West Putford
Image copyright © [in the public domain]
PD
Results: 2 records
BBL01: design element - motifs - rope moulding
Scene Description: not in the more common "centre ring" position, but on the lower half of the basin side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Clarke (1914)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Clarke (1914)
Copyright Instructions: PD
INFORMATION
Font ID: 06598PUT
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 11th - 13th century, Norman
Cognate Fonts: Another almost plain girdled-font in nearby Clyst St. Lawrence. The fonts at Bulkworthy, West Putford and Abbot's Bickington are rather similar and may have been made by the same hand according to Clarke (1915: 354)
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Stephen
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Stephen
Site Location: Devon, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Putford -both East and West, are located about 15 km SW of Bideford, 35-40 km N of Launceston
Additional Comments: recycled font: the font has been -at least partly- re-tooled
Font Notes:
Click to view
Noted in Paley (1844) as an early baptismal font "worked in the shape of a clumsy vase or tub". Described in Cox & Harvey (1907): "The font of the little church of West Putford has a rude-shaped bowl almost oval, but the cable moulding points to a Norman date; it was probably, in its origin, of village workmanship" [NB: Cox & Harvey's listing is confusing: the text describes the font as "West Putford", but the index includes only a suspicious "East Rutford" [sic] among the Norman fonts -- there is no "West Rutford" anywhere in Britain; Cockford does not list a church for East Putford either, therefore Cox & Harvey must have referred to West Putford's St. Stephen's]. Listed in Betjeman (1958) as a Norman font. Described and illustrated in Clarke (1914) who states that "this font is rudely worked, though it does not appear to be of very early date. It is noteworthy, because, except for the cable, it has no ornament whatever, whereas all the other girdled tub-fonts, with the one exception of Clyst St. Lawrence [cf. Index entry], are elanorately sculptured." Another oddity mentioned in Clarke is the fact that the rope moulding is part of the basin block, actually about seven cm. above the split between upper and lower stones. The lower stone is totally plain. Clarke reproduces the Rev. G.D. Melhuish, of Ashwater, regarding the identification of the material of the font as local: "of the same sort as many of the fonts in the district [...], from the cliffs". Noted in Pevsner (1952): "Font. Circular, Norman, rather shapeless, with one cable-moulding between bowl and shaft."
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone, limestone? [local stone]
Number of Pieces: two
Font Shape: tub-shaped, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: oval [cf. Font notes]
Basin Exterior Shape: oval [cf. Font notes]
Rim Thickness: 9.5 - 6 cm [calculated]
Diameter (inside rim): 48.25 - 45 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 67.5 - 57.5 cm*
Basin Depth: 25.5 cm*
Basin Total Height: 28.75 cm*
Height of Base: 31.25 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 63.75 cm*
Notes on Measurements: *[measurements given in inches in Clarke (1914: 436)]
REFERENCES
- Betjeman, John, An American's Guide to English Parish Churches (including the Isle of Man), New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1958, p. 144
- Clarke, Kate M., "The baptismal fonts of Devon -- Part II", 46, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1914, pp. 428-435; p. 434-435, 436 and ill. on p. opp. p. 434
- Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 195-196
- Paley, Frederick Apthorp, Illustrations of Baptismal Fonts, London, UK: John van Voorst, 1844, p. 19
- Pevsner, Nikolaus, North Devon, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1952, p. 166