Maristow / Marystow / Marystowe / Mary-Stow / Mary Stow

Main image for Maristow / Marystow / Marystowe / Mary-Stow / Mary Stow

Image copyright © [in the public domain]

PD

Results: 7 records

B01: design element - architectural - arcade - blind - round arches - intersecting arches

on the four faces of the square basin
Scene Description: on the four faces of the square basin
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

B02: design element - motifs - leaf - lanceolated

in some of the interspaces of the arcade
Scene Description: in some of the interspaces of the arcade
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

B03: design element - motifs - leaf - trefoiled

in some of the interspaces of the arcade: either trefoils or groups of three pellets arranged in trefoil form
Scene Description: in some of the interspaces of the arcade: either trefoils or groups of three pellets arranged in trefoil form
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

B04: design element - motifs - floral - fleur-de-lis

in some of the interspaces of the arcade
Scene Description: in some of the interspaces of the arcade
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

BBU01: design element - motifs - floral - 4-petal - in a square

a band of, all around the upper basin side, between the four heads
Scene Description: a band of, all around the upper basin side, between the four heads
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

BH01: human figure - grotesque or fantastic - head - 4

one at each angle of the upper basin side
Scene Description: one at each angle of the upper basin side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1921)
Copyright Instructions: PD

INFORMATION

Font ID: 06619MAR
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th - 13th century, Late Norman / Transitional?
Cognate Fonts: Clarke [cf. infra] groups this font with the ones at Lifton and Stowford
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 6-7 km NW of Plymouth, 13 km SE of Launceston
Font Notes:
Listed in Lysons (1806-1822) as one of a group of square baptismal fonts in the county that are "for the most part supported by four pillars and a large pedestal in the centre". Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 reports "an ancient font" in this church. Described in Worthy (1887): "The font is a very fine example of pure Norman work. It is square with a circular bason, is in good preservation and is profusely ornamented with grotesque heads at the angles, and with an arcade of circular arches intersecting each other." Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as having a baptismal font of the Norman period. Clarke (1921) writes that this is one of "a very interesting group of three fonts [Lifton and Stowford are the other two] which, though derived from the cushion bowls, retain none of their features except the corner masks. Maristow font appears to be the earliest. Like Ashwater and Bratton Clovelly [cf. Index entries] the rim is square in every dimension. At the angles it forms a cornice above the masks, below the masks the stone is chamfered off, so that in spite of its square appearance it is really an octagon. The main faces have an arcade of interlaced arches on three sides, making four lancet-shaped panelsand five triangular interspaces; on the north side there are only three panels, which are, of course, wider than the others. On the east and west faces the pilasters have a spare Norman abacus; this feature is preparing the way for the trefoil-headed lancet, as we shall see presently at Stowford; the panels are blank. The interspaces above on the east have each a trefoil, on the west two trefoils and a round pellet. On the north side at the point of each lancet-shaped panel is a conventional lily --the three-petalled fleur-de-lis (really the iris), which had so much vogue in the thirteenth century. The stem divides, curving to the right and left, joining the arches just at the spring, and taking the place of the square abacus on the east and west faces. Pointed trefoils fill the triangular interspaces: below the lilies the pabels are blank. The south face is similar to the north, though there are four panels instead of three, and the lilies are smaller, leaving more background. The central interspace is filled by a pointed trefoil, the side ones have groups of three pellets arranged as a trefoil. Above the interlaced arcades on all four sides is a carved band, 3 1/2 inches deep, consisting of a row of six four-leaved flowers. The corner pieces above the masks are rather narrow, and are perfectly plain." Noted in Pevsner (1952): "Norman, square, almost exactly as at Lifton."

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: square, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: square
Rim Thickness: 8 cm [calculated]
Diameter (inside rim): 57.5 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 73.75 cm*
Basin Depth: 27.5 cm*
Basin Total Height: 46.25 cm*
Height of Central Column: 25 cm
Font Height (less Plinth): 97.5 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [measurements given in inches in Clarke (1922: 223) -- NB: Clarke gives only "26 1/2 inches" as the measurement of the "base", but it probably refers to its diameter]

REFERENCES

  • Betjeman, John, An American's Guide to English Parish Churches (including the Isle of Man), New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1958, p. 142
  • Clarke, Kate M., "The baptismal fonts of Devon -- Part IX", 54, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1922, pp. 216-223; p. 222, 223
  • Clarke, Kate M., "The baptismal fonts of Devon -- Part VIII", 53, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1921, pp. 226-231; p. 228-229, 230, 231 and pl. I (opp. p. 229)
  • Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 196
  • Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate and Market Towns, Parishes, Chapelries, and Townships, and the Islands of Guernsy, Jersey, and Man, with Historical and Statistical Descriptions [...], London: S. Lewis, 1831, [www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=51139] [accessed 19 Febryary 2007]
  • 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. cccxxxi
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, South Devon, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1952, p. 204
  • Worthy, Charles, Devonshire parishes, or the antiquities, heraldry and family history of twenty-eight parishes in the Archdeaconry of Totnes, Exeter; London: William Pollard; George Redway, 1887, p. 183-184 / [http://books.google.ca/books?id=sgcVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220&dq=lamerton+church+font&source=bl&ots=7tuSX1lDWd&sig=AP8wFkxEZsyUbnUi_FgyE5b1S6g&hl=en&ei=2xGkSbvmNIS6nQfnxP2qBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA19,M1] [accessed 24 February 2009]