Upminster No. 1

Described and illustrated with an engraving by J. Basire in Repton (1812) as a baptismal font "from about the reign of King Henry the Sixth to that of Henry the Eighth" [1422-1509+]. Coller (1861) writes: "A chapel, built of stone by the abbot of Waltham, for the use of the lord of the manor and his tenantry, was standing in the middle of the last century. It contained a baptismal font provided by the abbot. After the chapel had been taken down, Champion Branfill, Esq., presented the font to the church of Upminster." Coller (ibid.) further describes the font itself in the context of the church interior: "The chief attractions in the interior are the octagonal font brought from the Hall chapel, a fine specimen of the perpendicular period, the sides of the basin being richly carved [...]". Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Perpendicular period. Noted in the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (Essex, 1916-1923): "Font: octagonal bowl with moulded edges, each side with quatrefoiled panels enclosing a foliated boss, stem with trefoil-headed panels, moulded base, late 15th-century." In Pevsner (1976): "Font. C15; octagonal bowl with quatrefoil panelling." The parish web site [www.upminster.com/history], reports that the font used to be at the intersection of the aisles but was moved under the tower in 1976. The Victoria County History (Essex, vol. 7, 1978) notes: "The name Upminster suggests that an ancient mother church, serving an area wider than the later parish, existed here long before the Conquest. [...] The earliest part of the [present] church is the stone tower of c. 1200. [...] In 1771 the north aisle was encased with stock bricks and given circular windows. (fn. 58) It contained c. 1790 an octagonal 15th-century font from the former chapel of Upminster Hall. [...] With the exception of the tower the church was almost wholly rebuilt in 1861–2, but the 19th-century structure reproduced closely the form of the earlier church". The font consists of an octagonal basin with vertical sides, each decorated with a quatrefoil window with a floral motif inscribed in it; graded chamfer underbowl; octagonal stem decorated with trefoild arches; moulded lower base also octagonal.