Pimperne

Image copyright © Gerald Duke, 2004
Standing permission
Results: 28 records
BBL01: design element - motifs - beaded-tape
BBU01: design element - motifs - beaded-tape
LB01: design element - motifs - moulding
LB01: human figure - head - 4
design element - motifs - foliage - scroll
view of base - detail - head1
view of base - detail - head2
view of base - detail - head3
view of base - detail - head4
view of base - detail - motif5
view of basin - detail - motif1
view of basin - detail - motif2
view of basin - detail - motif3
view of basin - detail - motif4
view of basin - interior
view of basin - upper view
view of church exterior - south door

Scene Description: the font and cover can be discerned beyond the door in Hutchins' engraving of ca. 1861
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Gerald Duke, 2004
Image Source: digital photograph in Gerald Duke [www.martinstown.co.uk] -- originally from Hutchins (1861-1873, vol. 1: 294
Copyright Instructions: Standing permission
view of church exterior - southeast view
view of church exterior - southwest view
view of church exterior - west tower
view of church interior - looking northeast
view of church interior - looking southwest
view of font - front side
view of font - plan, elevation, section and sketch
view of font and cover in context
INFORMATION
FontID: 06646PIM
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Peter
Church Patron Saints: St. Peter
Country Name: England
Location: Dorset, South West
Directions to Site: Located off the A354, 4 km NE of Blandford Forum
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the W end, S aisle, by the entrance
Century and Period: 12th century [basin only] [re-cut in the 19th century], Medieval [composite]
Font Notes: Click to view font notes
Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 reports that the font at Pimperne St. Peter's "is very ancient". It is noted in Hutchins (1861-1873) as being "coeval with the doorway" [i.e., Norman to Early English]; the font cover is noted as modern, but "characteristic and handsome." The Handbook for travellers… (1869) reports a Norman font in this church. Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as "a good example of the cup-shaped font", from the Norman period. In Long (1923) as a good example of cup-shaped font from the Norman period. Also as Norman in Mee (1939): "The beautiful font, with flowers and twining stems on its bowl and four heads round its base." In Newman & Pevsner (1972): "Norman, of cauldron shape, with large leaves in chains of large scrolls. Delightful stone font cover of pierced tracery, called 'modern' in 1861". A footnote in Newman & Pevsner (ibid.) adds: "It was, according to the Rev. B.A. Farquharson-Roberts, found close to the church about 150 years ago." [NB: much of the carving on the basin sides is the result of the 19th-century restoration]. Noted and illustrated in The Dorset Historic Churches Trust [http://dorsethistorichurchestrust.co.uk/pimperne.htm] with "an unusual replacement cover of unknown vintage, but of exceptional quality." The font and cover are also ilustrated in the Dorset OPC web site [www.dorset-opc.com]. A full description and set of illustrations can be found in Gerald Duke [www.martinstown.co.uk].
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material:
stone
Number of Pieces: three
Font Shape: cauldron-shaped (mounted) -- chalice-shaped
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Rim Thickness: 6 cm*
Diameter (inside rim): 48 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 60 cm*
Basin Depth: 28 cm*
Basin Total Height: 58 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 90 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [all measurements courtesy of Gerald Duke, 2004 [www.martinstown.co.uk]]
LID INFORMATION
Date: 19th century?
Material:
stone,
Apparatus: no
Notes: [cf. FontNotes]
REFERENCES
Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907
Gough, Richard, "Description of the old font in the Church of East Meon, Hampshire, 1789: with some observations on fonts", X, Archaeologia, 1792, pp. 183-209; r["References"]
Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, London: H.M. Stationary Office, 1970
Hutchins, John, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset: a view of the principal towns, seats, antiquities, and other remarkable particulars in Dorset, 1774
Hutchins, John, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, Westminster: J.B. Nichols, 1861-1873
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
Long, E.T., "Dorset church fonts", 44, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 1923, pp. 62-76; r["References"]
Mee, Arthur, The King's England. Dorset: Thomas Hardy's Country, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1939
Murray, John, A handbook for travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, London: John Murray, 1869
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Dorset, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972