Thorney nr. Peterborough

No idividual entry for this Thorney found in the Domesday survey. The University of Leicester Archaeological Services [www.le.ac.uk/ulas/projects/thorney.html] [accessed 15 December 2007] reported after the Summer 2001 project at Thorney Abbey, Cambridgeshire: "Roughly central to the building the remains of a stone-faced, brick fireplace were revealed. A small depression cut into some of the bricks was found to contain a lump of lead, further emphasising the lead recycling activities. Another intriguing feature was revealed to the east of the fireplace where a large architectural fragment had been re-used for lead working. The feature was made of a large octagonal limestone block with a c.20cm deep carved bowl in the top. Burning in the bowl and on the upper levels of the block, as well as large amounts of lead waste in the immediate vicinity, provided evidence for its re-use and complements the surrounding evidence for lead working. The earlier use of the stone however remains a mystery. Two possibilities are that it could either be a buried font or a laver (hand basin) both of which seem highly probable given the context of the site." The image in the report shows a quadrangular object, consistent in general shape and size with several of the font designs of the 12th century, one of the periods of activity of Thorney Abbey. Abbeys and monasteries often had parochial functions at the time, especially in the administration of baptism. [NB: thus far we have not been able to ascertain that the object was a baptismal font]. The entry for this church in the Victoria County History (Cambridge..., vol. 4, 2002) reports nave arcades of 12th-century daye here, but a modern font.