Staffordstown House

INFORMATION

FontID: 09257STA
Church/Chapel: [not in a church -- may have been originally from a local manor chapel]
Country Name: Republic of Ireland
Location: Meath / An Mhí, Leinster
Directions to Site: [Roe does not provide directions or village name reference for this location other than the name of the farm (?) itself]
Font Location in Church: Reported ca. 1968 "out in the middle of a field"
Century and Period: 14th century, Medieval
Roe (1968: 127-128) expresses exasperation at the sight encountered at the time of her visit to the Staffordstown House site (?) ca. 1968: "Out in the middle of a field, grazed by cattle [...]: a bit of a vault; a bit of a decorated tomb slab; bits of a human skeleton; and a bit of a font, embedded in the ground with the base lying nearby", and adds that, due to its position, "very little can be said of this vessel. It appears square with a circular basin and central drain. The base is also square with a drain hole through the centre." Roe (ibid.) further informs that this land is known to have belonged to the Cusack family and the site is connected to Sir Thomas Cusack, who was involved in the Dissolution of Monasteries and died in 1571. The font, however, adds Roe, "should be referred to at least the 14th century".

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Number of Pieces: two
Font Shape: square (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: square
Drainage Notes: Roe gives the diameter of the drain in the base as 18 cm
Rim Thickness: 10 cm
Diameter (inside rim): 39 cm
Basin Depth: 29 cm approx.
Basin Total Height: [unknown]**
Height of Base: 11 cm
Square Base Dimensions: 51 x 51 cm*
Trapezoidal Basin: 59 x 59 cm*
Notes on Measurements: Roe (1968: 128) *[Roe gives simply "59 cm." and "51 cm." as the widths of the square basin and base respectively] -- **[the basin was partly embedded in the ground]

REFERENCES

Roe, Helen M., Medieval Fonts of Meath, Longford, Ireland: Meath Archaeological and Historical Society, 1968