Wembury No. 1

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". The font at present [February 2009] in this church is actually a typical pink-stone and marble Victorian specimen with demi-angels at the angles of the basin [see http://www.flickr.com/photos/gora_gray/3298314610/in/set-72157614185225339/ [accessed 18 March 2009] for an image of the latter]. A communication from the parish [e-mail of 20 March 2009, from Peter A. Lugar, Wembury] informs: "The ancient font, as far as we know, was destroyed except for the centre column of Purbeck stone which was rescued and forms the centre column of the present Victorian font. It was found when excavations were being carried out around the Church as part of the 1886 restoration. The architect designed the "new" font to accommodate it, without dressing it up in any way, so it remains quite rough compared with the rest of the font." [cf. Index entry for Wembury No. 2 for a holy-water stoup in this church]