Odcombe

Kelly's Directory of 1883 reports "an ancient font" in this church. Wade & Wade (1929) report: "the basin of the font is ancient" in this church. Described in Pevsner (1958): "Square, of the Purbeck type, with five shallow arches on each side. The lid has Perp[endicular] tracery and may be C15 or early C16." The Parish web site [http://www.odcombe-church.co.uk/index.html] [accessed 30 March 2008] notes: "As you enter the Church you are met by the ancient font, which dates from Norman times. This crudely carved font of Keinton stone is unusual in that it is both twisted and out of square and lacks symmetry, having arcades of either 4 or 5 arches on each face. Stone masons from this time were at the pinnacle of their craft and how this escaped their quality control systems can only be speculated upon. Perhaps one side was crafted by the mason and the other three sides by apprentices just starting their training. The font rests on a square pier of Ham stone, each side carved with a pair of trefoiled lancets. On the south wall of the Nave hangs the 15th century font cover which split and has been replaced by a plain modern one."