Newcastle upon Tyne No. 4

No individual antry found for Newcastle in the Domesday survey. The entry for All Saints' in Eneas Mackenzie, 'All Saints' church: The old church', in Historical Account of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Including the Borough of Gateshead (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1827), pp. 292-302. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/newcastle-historical-account/pp292-302 [accessed 16 July 2019], notes: "The circumstances in which the dedication of this church to All Hallow or All Saints originated are unknown, nor can any satisfactory conjecture be formed respecting the date of its erection. Bourne, from an account in which the church-yard is mentioned, ascertained that it existed previous to the year 1286"; this source forthur informs on the deliberations that led to the decision in 1786 to demolish the church and have a new one built on the site. Of the font in the old church Mackenzie [cf. supra] writes: "The font stood near the entrance into the body of the church. It was a plain, octangular, stone pillar, the sides of which, extending outward at the top, formed large cavettos, supporting an octagon of larger size, with concave sides, decorated with armorial bearings. It was new painted and gilded in 1700, and, on the demolition of the church, was given to Alderman Hugh Hornby. It is accurately delineated in Brand's History of Newcastle." In his entry for Kirkharle St. Michael's, Northumberland, Pevsner (1957) writes: "Font. Perp[endicular]. From All Saints Church, Newcastle. Big for this small church. Octagonal, with concave sides and decoration by shields." [NB: there is no mention of a font in Pevsner's entry for All Saints', which probably means it has a modern font]. The web site of the Durham County Council [www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/lookup/[...]] refers to this as one of "a series of similar black marble fonts of 15th century date [that] survive in a number of churches in Newcastle"; the church of All Saints' is one of them, but the source specifies that the font is now in the Church of St. Wilfred, in Kirkharle [the other two are in St. Nicholas' and St. John's. The Kirkharle Courtyard web site [www.kirkharlecourtyard.net/Church.aspx] illustrates the font and notes: "The font, which dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, was originally in All Saints Church, Newcastle. In 1786 when this church was destroyed, the font was acquired by Alderman Hornby and placed in his garden. Thomas Anderson brought it with him on his move to Little Harle, with his son placing it into the church following restoration in 1884. The font has on each of its eight sides a shield of arms of Old Northumbrian families." The Anderson link is corroborated in the notes of the 3 September 1856 meeting in Newcastle of the Society of Antiquaries, reported in The Gentleman's Magazine (issue of July-Dec, 1856, p. 493): " the ancient font of All Saints', Newcastle, now in the possession of Mr. Anderson" [the source of the information is reported as 'a letter from Mr. Edward Spoor, one of the members']. [NB: the large shields on the basin sides are eroded but the coats of arms have been reproduced on the corresponding sides of the modern plinth]. The entry for the modern church of All Saints in Newcastle [Listing NGR: NZ2526064017] reports: "Vestibule under tower contains replica of medieval font with heraldic shields".