Gussage All Saints

Noted in the 3rd ed. of Hutchins (1973 c1861-1874): "The font, much decayed, is of Purbeck marble, and [...] belongs to the period of Transition between Norman and Early-English." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a Norman baptismal font made of Purbeck marble. Listed in Long (1923) and Mee (1939) as a baptismal font of the Norman period. [NB: not in Newman & Pevsner (1972), who note a 13th-century font in Gussage St. Michael].. The font in this church is illustrated in The Dorset Historic Churches Trust web site [http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk], and does not look Norman: it consists of an octagonal basin with tapering sides and a stepped -rather than chapfered- underbowl, all raised on a plain cylindrical pedestal stem and a square lower base. Medieval? The lead lining has been made to overflow the sides in angles almost half-way down the basin sides. The font cover consists of a flat octagonal oak platform with a floriture of wrought iron on it; modern.