Shipham

Baptismal font consisting of an octagonal basin decorated with mouldings at both ends, and with quatrefoil panels on the sides; the moulded pedestal base is also octagonal. Wooden font in the shape of an octagonal pyramid [cf. infra]. The font is probably of the same date as the church, ca. 1843. The whole stands on a modern two-setp plinth. Thomas (2006) [http://www.thomasgenweb.com/st_leonards_shipham.html] [accessed 23 April 2008] writes: "This beautiful little church traces it's [sic] foundation to the mid 13th century, where we learn that the church's first priest was a man known simply as John the Rector. We are told that at one time there existed in the village a drawing of the old church, which showed a plain building featuring a low, square battlemented tower and stone seats along the wall inside the church for parishioners. Although the present church dates from 1842, there are a few elements of the earlier medieval church to be found. Specifically, it is said that the wooden font cover was carved from the doors of the original church by a village craftsman in 1910." [NB: we have no information on the original font of the 13th-century church]