Bigby

The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales (1894-1895) reports: "The ancient font (restored to the church in 1878) is peculiar, having nines sides, one, blank, apparently having stood against the wall or a pilla; it is coeval with the church" [NB: the church is described in the same source as Early English]. Described in Betjeman (1958) as a "nine-sided font". Noted in Pevsner, Harris and Antram (1989): "Nine-sided, with simple cusped arches, one to each panel. Is that pre-Perp[endicular]?" The baptismal font consists of a polygonal basin of nine slightly tapering sides decorated with a large blind trefoil arch on each; the underbowl chamfer appears slightly rounded; nonagonal pedestal base with marked blind frames and two mouldings, one at each end; moulded lower base, also nonagonal. Crude wooden font cover, modern. [NB: this church has also a later font, probably 18th century (?) not listed in this Index] [We are grateful to Tony Gadd, and to Peter Fairweather, of wwww.churchmousewebsite.co.uk, for the photographs of this font]