Dunster

Results: 3 records

INFORMATION

Font ID: 07118DUN
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 15th century, Perpendicular
Workshop/Group/Artisan: heraldic font
Church / Chapel Name: Parish & Priory Church of St. George
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, at the W end of the nave
Church Patron Saint(s): St. George
Site Location: Somerset, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located on the A396, just S of the A39, 4 km SE of Minehead
Font Notes:
Described in Hamper (1808): "The font is octagonal and handsome; having on shields in quatrefoil recesses, the monogram HIS, in a crown of thorns, sponge and spear, cross, hammer, and pincers, hans, feet, and heart, alternately with double roses. If these latter ornaments have any allusion to the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster, we may presume that the bounty of Henry II. Was applied to the furniture of the church, though not to the building itslef." Noted in the Handbook for travellers… (1869): "The font is a fair Perp[endicular] one". Noted in Kelly's Directory of 1883. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Perpendicular period. "The church font dates from c 1530. Described in Pevsner (1958): "Perp[endicular], octagonal, panelled stem, bowl with quatrefoils containing shields, flowers, the wounds of Christ, etc." The carvings on the font represent the five wounds of Christ and the instruments of the passion. The cover dates from the 1850s" [source: Destinations UK-Ireland [http://www.destinations-uk.com/articles.php?link=articles&country=england&id=324&articletitle=Parish%20and%20Priory%20Church%20of%20St%20George,%20Somerset [accessed 11 February 2009]]

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: octagonal, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal

LID INFORMATION

Date: 19th-century (mid?)
Notes: [cf. FontNotes]

REFERENCES

  • Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 217
  • Hamper, William, "History and antiquities of Dunster [an un-titled letter to the Editor from William Hamper]", LXXVIII [vol. 1, Pt. II: New Series], Oct. 1808, The Gentleman's Magazine: or, Trader's monthly intelligencer, 1808, pp. 873-879; p. 879
  • Kelly, Eric Robert, Kelly's Directory of Somersetshire with the city of Bristol, London: Kelly & Co., 1883, p. 198
  • Murray, John, A handbook for travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, London: John Murray, 1869, p. 415 / [http://books.google.ca/books?id=hYEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA369&lpg=PA369&dq=hemyock+church+font&source=bl&ots=wV68KRXFhH&sig=_-CnLgSLeYKjq8YBQMsxSQrjbvA&hl=en&ei=1IKRSeTLOojKNO3c_YkM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PPR1,M1] [accessed 10 February 2009]
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, South and West Somerset, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1958, p. 155