Buckfast Abbey / Buckfestre

Main image for Buckfast Abbey / Buckfestre

Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2021

Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 November 2021)

Results: 6 records

view of church exterior - northwest view

Source caption: "Church of St Mary (Buckfast Abbey)" [NB: the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey]
Scene Description: Source caption: "Church of St Mary (Buckfast Abbey)" [NB: the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Necrothesp, 2006
Image Source: digital photograph 17 April 2006 by Necrothesp [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buckfast_Abbey,_Buckfastleigh,_Devon_8.JPG] [accessed 28 November 2021]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0

view of church exterior in context - northeast view

the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey
Scene Description: the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2021
Image Source: digital photograph 25 July 2021 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 November 2021)

view of church interior - looking east

Source caption: "Interior of Buckfast Abbey, Devon" [NB: the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey]
Scene Description: Source caption: "Interior of Buckfast Abbey, Devon" [NB: the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © David_S, 2016
Image Source: digital photograph by David_S, 20 October 2016 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buckfast_Abbey_(30615545615).jpg] [accessed 28 November 2021]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church interior - looking east

the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey
Scene Description: the abbey was re-founded in 1882 and the new church consecrated in 1932, on the site of the demolished medieval abbey
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2021
Image Source: digital photograph 25 July 2021 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 November 2021)

view of font and cover

"Cast in solid bronze by Bernhard Witte, the baptismal font is a replica of the masterpiece in Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany. The figures on the side of the font, modelled in high relief, give a graphical account of the doctrine of Christian Baptism -- for example, the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, and the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. At the base of the font, there are four kneeling figures. These figures are the symbols of the four great rivers of paradise, Gihon, Tigris, Phison and Euphrates. The font weighs 317 kg. The heavy cover is raised by means of counterweights above the ceiling." [cf. FontNotes]
Scene Description: "Cast in solid bronze by Bernhard Witte, the baptismal font is a replica of the masterpiece in Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany. The figures on the side of the font, modelled in high relief, give a graphical account of the doctrine of Christian Baptism -- for example, the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, and the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. At the base of the font, there are four kneeling figures. These figures are the symbols of the four great rivers of paradise, Gihon, Tigris, Phison and Euphrates. The font weighs 317 kg. The heavy cover is raised by means of counterweights above the ceiling." [cf. FontNotes]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Skin - ubx, 2011
Image Source: digital photograph 9 July 2011 by Skin - ubx [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:018_Buckfast_Abbey_(5929916099).jpg] [accessed 28 November 2021]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-2.0

view of font and cover

"Cast in solid bronze by Bernhard Witte, the baptismal font is a replica of the masterpiece in Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany. The figures on the side of the font, modelled in high relief, give a graphical account of the doctrine of Christian Baptism -- for example, the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, and the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. At the base of the font, there are four kneeling figures. These figures are the symbols of the four great rivers of paradise, Gihon, Tigris, Phison and Euphrates. The font weighs 317 kg. The heavy cover is raised by means of counterweights above the ceiling." [cf. FontNotes]
Scene Description: "Cast in solid bronze by Bernhard Witte, the baptismal font is a replica of the masterpiece in Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany. The figures on the side of the font, modelled in high relief, give a graphical account of the doctrine of Christian Baptism -- for example, the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, and the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. At the base of the font, there are four kneeling figures. These figures are the symbols of the four great rivers of paradise, Gihon, Tigris, Phison and Euphrates. The font weighs 317 kg. The heavy cover is raised by means of counterweights above the ceiling." [cf. FontNotes]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2021
Image Source: digital photograph 25 July 2021 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 November 2021)

INFORMATION

FontID: 09859BUC
Object Type: Baptismal Font1?
Church/Chapel: Abbey Church
Church Patron Saints: St. Mary the Virgin [new church dedication]
Church Location: [NB: address & coordinates for the new abbey church] Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh TQ11 0EE, UK
Country Name: England
Location: Devon, South West
Directions to Site: Located off the A38 [aka Devon Exxpressway], about 1 -2 km N of Buckfastleigh
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Exeter
Historical Region: Hundred of Diptford
Century and Period: 11th - 12th century, Romanesque
Church Notes: Benedictine abbey of 1018; Savignac, later Cistercian abbey 1134; dissolved 1539, fell into ruins thereafter and was demolished; re-founded by Benedicitines in 1882; new abbey church consecrated 1932
Font Notes:
There is an entry for Buckfast Abbey [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SX7467/buckfast/] [accessed 28 November 2021]. We have no information on the font(s) of the medieval abbey demolished after the Dissolution. The re-founded abbey of 1882 houses in its 1932 church a replica font described and illustrated in the Abbey's web site [www.buckfast.org.uk/abbey.htm]: "Cast in solid bronze by Bernhard Witte, the baptismal font is a replica of the masterpiece in Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany [cf. Index entry for Hildesheim]. The figures on the side of the font, modelled in high relief, give a graphical account of the doctrine of Christian Baptism -- for example, the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, and the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. At the base of the font, there are four kneeling figures. These figures are the symbols of the four great rivers of paradise, Gihon, Tigris, Phison and Euphrates. The font weighs 317 kg. The heavy cover is raised by means of counterweights above the ceiling." [cf. Index entry for Hildesheim No. 1 for the original font in Hildesheim cathedral]

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 50.492948, -3.775645
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 50° 29′ 34.61″ N, 3° 46′ 32.32″ W
UTM: 30U 444983 5593729