Litton Cheney

Image copyright © Gerald Duke, 2004
Standing permission
Results: 9 records
B01: design element - motifs
design element - patterns - festoon
view of basin - back side
view of basin - interior
view of church exterior - southeast view
view of church interior - looking east
view of church interior - looking west
view of font and cover
INFORMATION
FontID: 09334LIT
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Mary
Church Patron Saints: St. Mary the Virgin
Country Name: England
Location: Dorset, South West
Directions to Site: Located 10-15 km ESE of Bridport
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the nave, S side
Century and Period: 12th century [basin only], Medieval [composite]
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Gerald Duke, of www.martinstown.co.uk, and to Robin Adeney and The Dorset Historic Churches Trust [www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk], for the photograph of this font
Font Notes: Click to view font notes
Noted in the 3rd ed. of Hutchins (1973 c1861-1874): "The font is formed apparently of the inverted base of a Norman circular pier." Described in Kelly's Directory of Dorsetshire (1895) [after Hutchins]. Long (1923) and Mee (1939) date it also to the Norman period. Newman & Pevsner (1972) write: "Font. Norman, with two modest ornamental bands, the lower one unusual." Described and illustrated in The Dorset Historic Churches Trust web site [http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/litton_cheney.htm]: "the bowl of the font is thought to be Norman, although the base is modern." Described and fully illustrated in Gerald Duke [www.martinstown.co.uk], who notes the damage to the north side of the basin. [NB: the fact that the basin was made from an inverted column base may account for the "unusual" motif noted in Newman & Pevsener].
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material:
stone, limestone [basin only]
Number of Pieces: two
Font Shape: round (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Drainage Notes: lead lining
Rim Thickness: 7 cm*
Diameter (inside rim): 54 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 68 cm*
Basin Depth: 21 cm*
Basin Total Height: 39 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 93 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [all measurements courtesy of Gerald Duke [www.martinstown.co.uk]]
LID INFORMATION
Date: modern
Material:
wood,
oak?
Apparatus: no
Notes: round and flat
REFERENCES
Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, London: H.M. Stationary Office, 1970
Hutchins, John, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, Wakefield: E.P. Pub. Ltd., 1973
Kelly, Kelly's Directory of Dorsetshire, London: Kelly's Directories Ltd., 1895
Long, E.T., "Dorset church fonts", 44, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 1923, pp. 62-76; r["References"]
Mee, Arthur, The King's England. Dorset: Thomas Hardy's Country, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1939
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Dorset, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972