Llanbeulan

Lewis' Dictionary edition of 1849 notes: "The font is an unique specimen of the twelfth century, two feet one inch high by two feet eleven inches long, externally, and twenty-seven inches and a half by fifteen inches and a half, internally, being eleven inches deep, with shelving sides, and thus affording space for immersing a child three or four years old. The workmanship of it is exceedingly rude; the cover is of oak, and bears the name of William Bold, and the date 1666." Described and illustrated in Lord (2003): rectangular tub-shaped baptismal font of the late 10th or early 11th century, the ornamentation of which Lord compares to other fonts of the area [the arcade is similar to those on the Heneglwys and Llaniestyn fonts], as well as to other objects farther away [the Maltese cross on this font is compared by Lord to the eighth-century closure slabs at Saint-Pierre-en-Citadelle, Metz]. Lord (ibid.) appears to favour the possibility of this object having been originally an altar of the pre-Norman period [NB: compare, however, to the 12th-century (?) baptismal font at Airenes, Somme, which is of similar shape, proportions and design, although the decorative themes are different, and it is bigger -- cf. Index entry]. Noted and illustrated in Thurlby (2006) who points out its relation to the font at Heneglwys: "Closely related to the Heneglwys font is the one at Llanbeulan, which, however, is unique amongst the Anglesey examples in being rectangular. Thurlby (ibid.) further suggests that, as with the font at Heneglwys, the details of the arcade and lozenge work "speaks more clearly of Norman rather than Anglo-Saxon associations and surely precludes Lord's dating of the font to the late tenth to eleventh century". Thurlby (ibid.) concludes: "the close similarities between the Heneglwys and Llanbeulan fonts indicated that they come from the same workshop and even the same hand." Three sides of the rectangular font at Llanbeulan are decorated, the two short sides and one of the long ones: the narrow east side bears a Maltese (?) cross with the arms linked by a roll moulding circle, surrounded by several frames , the outer of which is patterned with rope motif on the sides and chevron (?) on the top; the long (north) side has a blind arcade of round arches very much like the one on the round font at nearby Heneglwys, and like it, raised on a band of diamond motif; the narrow west side has a chequered pattern raised on a band of T-fret motif. There is no question that these two fonts, though totally different in shape, share a very similar decorative program and were quite likely the work of the same or related workshops. The Civic Trust Wales web site [www.civictrustwales.org] writes: "the chief glory is the font which seems to have originated as an altar and could be 12C".