Bishop's Frome

INFORMATION

FontID: 07262BIS
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Church Patron Saints: St. Mary the Virgin
Country Name: England
Location: Herefordshire, West Midlands
Directions to Site: Located on the B4214, 20 km ENE of Hereford, near Castle Frome [also with a listed font]
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Century and Period: 13th century (early), Medieval
Workshop/Group/Artisan: Herefordshire school
Cognate Fonts: Other works of the Herefordshire School: Bosbury, Bredwardine, Kilpeck, Kingstone, Madley, Turnastone and Vowchurch
Described in Halsey (1987: 107-109) as one of eight baptismal fonts "made of a local reddish brown, psammitic limestone, called 'Breccia' or 'Cornstone'", that were the work of the Herefordshire School [NB: the eight fonts are: Bishops Frome, Bosbury, Bredwardine, Kilpeck, Kingstone, Madley, Turnastone and Vowchurch]. Hasley (ibid.) mentions that the modern stem could be a copy of the original. The Royal Commission's inventory (1931-1934, vol. II: 11) does not mention the stem but dates the basin to the early 13th century.

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone (psammitic limestone)
Number of Pieces: two
Font Shape: round (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Diameter (includes rim): 100 cm* [approx.]
Notes on Measurements: *[Given as "40 in. diam." in Herefordshire (1931-1934, vol. II: 11)]

REFERENCES

Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire, London: H.M. Stationary Office, 1931-1934
Halsey, Richard, "Eight Herefordshire marble fonts", Romanesque and Gothic: Essays for George Zarnecki, Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell, 1987