Seamer in Cleveland / Seamer-in-Cleveland / Semare / Semer / Semere / Semers

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Image copyright © Christine Johnstone, 2018

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Results: 1 records

view of church exterior in context - southeast view

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Christine Johnstone, 2018
Image Source: digital photograph taken 15 November 2018 by Christine Johnstone [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5981735] [accessed 19 December 2019]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

INFORMATION

Font ID: 12428SEA
Object Type: Baptismal Font1?
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Martin
Font Location in Church: [reported inside the church in the 19th century]
Previous Font Location(s): originally from Alexandria, Egypt
Church Address: Hilton Rd, Seamer-in-Cleveland, Stokesley TS9 5LU, UK -- Tel.: +44 1642 710405
Site Location: North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located off the A172, 3 km WNW of Stokesley
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of York
Historical Region: Hundred of Langbaurgh
Additional Comments: recycled font? was the Alexandrian object originally meant as a font? what happened to it? -- disappeared font? (the one of the 14th-15thC church here)
Font Notes:
There is a multiple-place entry for this Seamer [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/NZ4910/seamer/] [accesssed 19 December 2019] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Pigot's Directory of 1834 notes: "a handsome marble font, supported by a pillar of red granite, found amongst the ruins of a church at Alexandria, in 1798, by Sir Cuthbert Heron [sic -- cf. infra], and presented by him to the parish". Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 reported on St. Martin's: "The church, built in 1822, is a neat edifice in the later English style, with a square tower, and contains a marble font brought by Sir Cuthbert Herring [sic -- cf. supra] from Alexandria." The National Gazetteer of 1868 notes "a marble font, the gift of Sir Cuthbert Herring [sic -- cf. supra/infra] in 1922." Bulmer's Directory of 1890 notes: "The marble font, supported on a pillar of the same material, was taken from the ruins of a church in Alexandria, in Egypt, after the Battle of the Nile in 1798, by Sir Cuthbert Heron [cf. supra], and presented to this church in 1822." The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (York North Riding, vol. 2, 1923) notes; "The structure is of no antiquarian or historical interest, having been entirely rebuilt in 1821–2 [...] On the north side [...] there is an old square-headed window of two trefoiled lights in the nave, apparently of 15th-century date, but no other ancient work remains. [...] The font was presented in 1822 and bears a small brass plate inscribed 'The gift of Sir Cuthbert Heron, Baronet, to the parish of Seamer, county of York. This marble pillar was taken from the ruins of a church at Alexandria, in Egypt, at the glorious battle of the Nile, in the year 1798, and brought to England in the ship Antelope, Captain William Rayne.'" The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: NZ4984010302] describes the present building as an "1822 rebuild of medieval church" but mentions no font in it.

COORDINATES

UTM: 30U 614565 6038941
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 54° 29' 8.2" N, 1° 13' 56.3" W

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, marble

REFERENCES

  • The National Gazetteer: a Topographical Dictionary of the British Isles, London: Virtue & Co., 1868, [www.genuki.org.uk/gig/eng/YKS/NRY/Seamerin cleveland/Seamerin cleveland68.htm] [accessed 19 December 2006]
  • Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
  • Bulmer, T., History, Topography, and Directory of North Yorkshire, Comprising its Ancient and Modern History; [...], Preston: T. Bulmer & Co. (T. Snape & Co. Printers), 1890, [www.genuki.org.uk/gig/eng/YKS/NRY/Seamer/Seamer90.htm] [accessed 19 December 2006]
  • 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]
  • Pigot, Pigot's Directory (Yorkshire section), 1834, [www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Seamerincleveland/Seamerincleveland34.html] [accessed 19 December 2006