Seaham / Old Seaham

Results: 1 records

INFORMATION

Font ID: 11263SEA
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th - 13th century / 17th century, Medieval
Cognate Fonts: Font at Dalton-le-Dale
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Mary, Seaham
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Wikidata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Seaham
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Mary the Virgin
Church Address: Church Ln, Seaham SR7 7AF, United Kingdom -- Tel.: +44 191 534 6492
Site Location: Durham, North East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located off the B1287, 7-8 km S of Sunderland
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Durham
Font Notes:
Noted in Mackenzie (1834): "The font is a plain stone basin, the rim ornamented with tracery". Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 reports simply "an elegant font" in this church, without further details. Pevsner (1983) notes: "Twins at Seaham and Dalton-le-Dale look more C17 than medieval" and goes on to describe the font at Seaham St. Mary's: "Circular shaft and bowl with band of leafy scrolls along the top rim (cf. Dalton-le-Dale); late Norman, early C13, or even Restoration. C17 cover." The Sunderland Antiquarian Society website has a description of the font writted by its former president, Henry L. Robson in April 1961 [http://www.sunderland-antiquarians.org/religion/] [accessed 19 January 2010]: "The font, standing under the tower arch, is an interesting piece of work. It has a smallish round bowl, resting on a round shaft, and just below the rim of the bowl is a band of ornamentation in the form of a scroll, which seems to consist of dragon-like figures. They have a head at each end, curled up in the form of a spiral. Some authorities have placed this font in the Norman period; but it looks too slender and graceful for that time. It is difficult to date; it may belong to the 13th century, or it may be a Restoration font installed after the year 1660 […] The wooden font cover, also appears to be of Jacobean date."

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: round, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

LID INFORMATION

Date: 17th-century?
Material: wood
Notes: [cf. FontNotes]

REFERENCES

  • Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate and Market Towns, Parishes, Chapelries, and Townships, and the Islands of Guernsy, Jersey, and Man, with Historical and Statistical Descriptions [...], London: S. Lewis, 1831, [www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=51261] [accessed 19 December 2006]
  • Mackenzie, Eneas, An historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county palatine of Durham: comprehending the various subjects of natural, civil, and ecclesiastical geography, agriculture, mines, manufactures […], Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Mackenzie & Dent, 1834, vol. 2: 382
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, County Durham, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1983, p. 26, 138, 399