Killyleagh / Cill Uí Laoch

The web site of the Church of Ireland Parish of Killyleagh [http://killyleagh.down.anglican.org] writes: "The font is believed to come from the medieval church at Killowen. It is sculpted from red porphysy, a hard crystaline rock, deep red in colour and quarried in ancient Egypt. Originally the font is thought to have been a 'stoup' for holding holy water, and of 11th or 12th Century Mediterranean origin." The same web site shows an illustration of the bowl of the font topped with a tall modern font cover; the basin appears hemispherical in shape, with a lip at the upper rim and deeply carved rib pattern around the sides and underbowl. Notwithstanding the claim for antiquity and origin stated in the parish web, the shape of this basin is consistent with the type of baptismal basins used in post-Reformation England and, although porphyry is often associated with Egypt, Cornish quarries supplied this igneous stone for use in interiors during Victorian times. The Killyleagh church underwent major restoration and expansion in the 19th century, and this font may actually belong to that period instead.