Washfield

Results: 2 records

B01: design element - architectural - arcade - blind - round arches

Scene Description: on both the east and west sides of the square basin

B02: design element - motifs - zigzag

Scene Description: "the north and south [basin sides] have zigzags with patellæ between" (Clarke (1922: 219))

INFORMATION

FontID: 10352WAS
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Church Patron Saints: St. Mary the Virgin
Country Name: England
Location: Devon, South West
Directions to Site: Located off the A361, NW of Tiverton
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Century and Period: 11th - 13th century, Norman / Transitional?
Cognate Fonts: Clarke (1922) describes it as one nine Devon 'table fonts' (Bondleigh, Hennock, Holbeton, Honiton Clyst, Mariansleigh, North Lew, Petrockstowe, Roseash and Washfield). Oliver (1840-2) mentions Kenne
Listed in Lysons (1806-1822) as one of a group of square baptismal fonts in the county that are "for the most part supported by four pillars and a large pedestal in the centre". Oliver (1840-2) writes: "The font resembles that of Kenne, square, with a circular stem in the centre, surrounded by four slender columns at the angles. Each side of the square is inscribed by six circular arches." Noted in Stabb (1908) simply as "a very ancient Norman font." Clarke (1922) describes it as one nine Devon 'table fonts' (Bondleigh, Hennock, Holbeton, Honiton Clyst, Mariansleigh, North Lew, Petrockstowe, Roseash and Washfield) that belong to the thirteenth century, "though the ornament on the bowls is of that date their heavy construction suggests a Norman origin, so that they have often been wrongly attributed to the twelfth century". Of this particular font Clarke (ibid.) writes: "A square font, of the same type as Honiton Clyst, though smaller, and with less varied ornament", and notes that "It rests on four small shafts. There is also a thick central shaft, but its upper edge is 1/2 inch below the bowl, so that it does not support it at all". Clarke (ibid.) also notes that "a lead pipe from the drain is carried throughout the shaft" in this font. Noted in Pevsner (1952): "Font. Norman, square, of table-top type, one side of the top with six blank arches, the other with similarly elementary zigzag decoration."

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: square (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: square
Drainage Notes: lead pipe from the drain down through the shaft
Rim Thickness: 8 cm [calculated]
Diameter (inside rim): 57.50 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 73.75 cm*
Basin Depth: 12.5 cm*
Basin Total Height: 26.25 cm*
Height of Central Column: 32.5 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 60 cm*
Font Height (with Plinth): 85 cm* [60 + 25]
Notes on Measurements: * [measurements given in inches in Clarke (1922: 223)]

REFERENCES

Clarke, Kate M., "The baptismal fonts of Devon -- Part IX", 54, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1922, pp. 216-223; r["References"]
Lysons, Daniel, Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain, London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1806-1822
Oliver, George, Ecclesiastical Antiquities in Devon: being Observations on Several Churches in Devonshire, with some Memoranda for the History of Cornwall, Exeter: W.C. Featherstone, 1840-1842
Pevsner, Nikolaus, North Devon, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1952
Stabb, John, Some old Devon churches, their roods, pulpits, fonts, etc., London: Simkin, [et al.], 1908-1916