London No. 47

Allen (1839?) writes: "The font, situated beneath the western gallery, is an octangular basin of freestone, on a pillar of the same form, with a cover of carved oak in an inferior style to the general decorations. The rails enclosing the font, as well as those of the altar are twisted, a mode of decoration forming a great feature in this building". A baptismal font originally from the Parish Church of All Hallows, on Upper Thames Street, London, is noted in Pevsner (1976): "Font, font cover, reredos, and some more fragments from All Hallows, Great Thames Street [sic], London -- work of the finest Wren standards. The font is of marble with leaves spreading up the stem and thick flutings leading over into the bowl. The font cover is beautifully carved." [NB: the original All Hallows, Upper Thames St., London, burned down in the Great Fire of 1666; it was entirely rebuilt between 1677 and 1682 under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren]. Blatch (1995) informs that All Hallows the Great "was demolished in 1894 to make way for a brewery"; only the tower was saved from the demolition].