Eastnor

Described in Herefordshire (1931-1934, vol. II: 74): "Font: cylindrical tapering bowl, 12th-century or earlier, with moulded base, 13th-century, badly broken." The British Listed Buildings database [www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-152465-church-of-st-john-the-baptist-eastnor-] [accessed 18 September 2012] reports two fonts; an ancient one: "Circular tub font in north aisle", and a modern one: "Font [...] of 1852 in a heavy Gothic style, of carved freestones and marble shafts. The Herefordshire Churches site [http://herefordshirechurches.co.uk/e/eastnor-st-john-the-baptist/] notes and illustrates both fonts; the old font: "is possibly the earliest font on show in the country - the base was carved early in the 14th century, showing that even then the bowl was thought to be important enought to warrant new support. The depth of the bowl is such that it is clear that it was intended for total immersion of babies, and the square opening at the side may have been for holding a pot of baptismal oil. There is a hinged cover fitted with a lock, but the staples for locking the font were removed at the time of the Reformation." -- and the modern replacement, bot of them still held inside the church: "the one that is in current use". The modern font dates probably from the 1852 re-building of this church by Sir George Gilbert Scott,