West Grimstead / West Grinstead

INFORMATION

Font ID: 07316GRI
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century, Norman
Church / Chapel Name: Church of St. John
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. John
Site Location: Wiltshire, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located just W of the A36, 8 km ESE of Salisbury
Additional Comments: altered font
Font Notes:
Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period. [NB: C&H erroneously (?) use the spelling "West Grinstead" -- not to be mistaken with its homonym in East Sussex, also listed in C&H -and this Index- with a Norman font]. Described in Buck (1950) as "early Norman [...] The font was apparently a 'tub' font originally which, during the course of time, became damaged around the rim; the rimm was therefore cut down to eliminate the damage, but instead of raising the original font on a separate block of stone [...], another bowl was made and placed on top of the original. This was probably done during the eighteenth century restoration of the church, seeing that this latter bowl has no marks of fastenings".

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: tub-shaped
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Basin Depth: 20 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [in Buck (1950), who comments that the rim had been trimmed off]

REFERENCES

  • Buck, A.G. Randle, "Some Wiltshire fonts. Part I", LIII, CXCIII (December 1950), The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, 1950, pp. 458-470; p. 465-466
  • Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 227