Theydon Mount

Noted in the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (Essex, 1916-1923) as a Renaissance font: "font of very rare form [...] In nave--against W. [...] of S. doorway, of black and coloured marble, pilaster stem with moulded base and foliated capital supporting a moulded rectangular bowl; against the wall, above the bowl, a niche with flanking pilasters, and shell head with a mask, and foliated spandrels under a moulded cornice; first half of the 17th century." The Victoria County History (Essex, vol. 4, 1956) notes: "There appears to have been a church at Theydon Mount in 1236 [...] The original parish church of Theydon Mount was dedicated to ST. Michael and St. Stephen [...] The present church [...] is dedicated to St. Michael only. [...] The marble font, which stands against the west splay of the south doorway, is of most unusual design [...] The stem consists of a square pillar supporting a moulded bowl of black marble. Above the bowl is a bearded mask set in a shell-headed niche." Bettley & Pevsner (2007) write: "Font. Unusually small, of black and coloured marble, attached to the wall. Rectangular bowl, on a pillar, and above it a niche with shell-head and mask, as if about to spout water. Contemporary with the church and said to come from Itlay, where it was probably intended as a stoup." This same source notes that the earlier building was damaged by a fire, the new church built in brick in 1611-1614. There is a later font, of the late-Victorian type, in the church; it has a round basin decorated with a band of foliage, raised on thick clustered coulmns and an octagonal lower base; on a quadrangular plinth [NB: we have no information on the earlier font; presumed destroyed in the fire].