Kidwelly

INFORMATION

Font ID: 13602KID
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century, Norman
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Mary
Font Location in Church: [destroyed in 1884]
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Mary the Virgin
Site Location: Carmarthenshire, Dyfed, Wales, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located on the A484, 16 km S of Carmarthen
Font Notes:
Baker-Jones (1970) notes: ''In some churches along the coast there used to be many Norman fonts which had characteristics of their own and showed the advance of the invader into these parts . Thus in the churches of St . Mary, KidwelIy, Penbre, St . Ishmael's and Llanstephan the original fonts were of the square Norman type, having shallow bowls and ornamented with plain cushion capitals . The first three have disappeared but sketches of them still exist''. The fate of the original Kidwelly font is explained later in Baker-Jones (ibid.): ''The font is modern, taking the place of that destroyed in the last fall of the spire in 1884.''

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: square, mounted
Basin Exterior Shape: square

REFERENCES

  • Baker-Jones, D.L., "Looking at Carmarthenshire Churches", VII (1970), The Carmarthenshire Historian, 1970