Eggesford

Main image for Eggesford

Image copyright © [in the public domain]

PD

Results: 2 records

B01: design element - motifs - floral - 6-petal - in a circle - 4

Scene Description: one on each side of the square basin
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1919)
Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image from an illustration in Clarke (1919)
Copyright Instructions: PD

INFORMATION

Font ID: 10414EGG
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th - 13th century [basin only], Medieval / composite [altered]
Cognate Fonts: Alverdiscott, also in Devon
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of All Saints, Eggesford
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): All Saints
Church Address: Eggesford, Chulmleigh EX18 7QU, United Kingdom -- Tel.: +44 1884 861383
Site Location: Devon, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located on the A377, 25-30 km WNW of Exeter (dir. Barnstaple)
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Exeter
Additional Comments: recycled font / restored font (in 1919): only the basin is original, and even that has been re-touched in places [cf. FontNotes]
Font Notes:
No entry found for Eggesford in the Domesday survery. A font here is described and illustrated in Clarke (1919): "Of the same pattern as Alverdiscott, but gaining considerably because the upper part of the bowl has been retained, though necessarily patched in five places with new stone. On each face is a lily in a sunk circle as at Alverdiscott, but the background is punched so as to throw out the flower; the punching is modern, and ought not to have been applied. The rest of the bowl is plain, without the fleurs-de-lis on the curves as at Alverdiscott. The shaft and plinth are restorations; there is a chevron as necking and cable at base. The plinth is formed of scallops placed on a slope with the edge cut into unnatural curves, and has a trivial look [...] The material is limestone; there is a modern lead lining to the bowl." In Pevsner (1952): "Font. Norman, much restored. Bowl with rosette on each side and lower edge scalloped."
A 3-D model of this font made by artfletch may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/eggesford-church-font-fa6a60d149534611aba3422b27132deb] [accessed 25 July 2025]; its caption reads: "The Norman font (restored in 1919) at Church Of All Saints, Eggesford, Devon."

COORDINATES

UTM: 30U 438962 5637362
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 50.8847, -3.86772
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 50° 53′ 4.92″ N, 3° 52′ 3.79″ W

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone
Font Shape: cushion-capital shape, square, mounted
Basin Exterior Shape: square
Drainage Notes: lead lining [modern]
Rim Thickness: 5.5 cm [calculated]
Diameter (inside rim): 45 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 56.25 cm*
Basin Depth: 25 cm*
Basin Total Height: 40 cm*
Height of Central Column: 40 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 77.5 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [measurements given in inches in Clarke (1919: 221)]

LID INFORMATION

Date: modern
Material: wood
Apparatus: no
Notes: square and flat with metal decoration and ring hangle atop

REFERENCES

  • Clarke, Kate M., "The baptismal fonts of Devon -- Part VI", 51, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1919, pp. 211-221; p. [211], 217, 218, 221 and pl. III (opp. p. 217)
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, North Devon, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1952, p. 84