Huxham / Huxam

Results: 4 records

INFORMATION

Font ID: 06617HUX
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century, Norman
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Mary the Virgin
Site Location: Devon, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located just S of Stoke Canon and N of Exeter
Additional Comments: damaged font: horizontal crack + many repairs
Font Notes:
Listed in Lysons (1806-1822) as a baptismal font "among many of circular form and an early age, enriched with various carved mouldings, wreaths, scrolls, or foliage". Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907: 196) as having a baptismal font of the Norman period. Noted in Stabb (1908): "The font is Norman, and is apparently of red sandstone; there is a band of carving round the top, a fluted bowl, and cable moulding; it stands on a modern base." Described in Clarke (1913) as "A fine font; the ornament indicates late eleventh or early twelfth century; unfortunately a great deal of repair has been necessary. Round the rim is a band 4 1/2 inches deep; of this 16 1/2 inches in one place and about 4 in another are all that remain of the original work. This consists of pateræ or small medallions, enclosing the Norman rose; alternating with the medallions are groups of five nail-heads, the central one larger than the others, arranged much in the same way as the symbolical representation of the Five Wounds, though I do not suppose the intention was to represent that subject, as the symbols of the Passion are very rarely found before the fifteenth century. On the modern part of the band, about 60 inches altogether, two concentric discs take the place of the rose, and instead of the nail-heads there are round or filbert-shaped pellets. Below the band the body of the bowl is covered with diagonal rolls, having an average width of 2 inches, with sharply cut grooves between; more than two-thirds is original work. The encircling band is a cable; this and the portion below it are entirely original. The font stands on a modern plinth." In Pevsner (1952): "Norman, with diagonally fluted circular bowl, a cable moulding below, a frieze of little circles, and symmetrically arranged spots on top." Noted in Hoskins (1954) as "a fine example" of the Norman period.

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, sandstone (red)?
Font Shape: tub-shaped, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Rim Thickness: 10.5 cm [calculated]
Diameter (inside rim): 47.5 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 68.75 cm*
Basin Depth: 20 cm*
Basin Total Height: 35.6 cm*
Height of Base: 38 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 73.7 cm*
Font Height (with Plinth): 101.25 cm*
Notes on Measurements: *[measurements given in inches in Clarke (1914: 436)]

REFERENCES

  • Clarke, Kate M., "The baptismal fonts of Devon -- Part I", 45, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1913, pp. 314-329; p. 318
  • 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. 433, 436
  • Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 196
  • Hoskins, William George, Devon, London: Collins, 1954, [cited in http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/110297/1.html [accessed 18 February 2009]
  • Lysons, Daniel, Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain, London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1806-1822, vol. 6: p. cccxxx
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, South Devon, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1952, p. 184
  • Stabb, John, Some old Devon churches, their roods, pulpits, fonts, etc., London: Simkin, [et al.], 1908-1916, p. 129