London No. 53

INFORMATION

FontID: 13617LON
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Anne and St. Agnes
Church Patron Saints: St. Anne & St. Agnes
Country Name: England
Location: Greater London, South East
Directions to Site: Located on the N side of St. Anne's, within Aldersgate
Font Location in Church: [destroyed]
Date: ca. 1680?
Century and Period: 17th century(late?), Stuart? / Jacobean?
Workshop/Group/Artisan: Christopher Wren?
Cognate Fonts: a copy oif the now disappeared font of St. Mildred's, Bread Street
Allen (1839?) reports that the old church of St. Anne's, also known as St. Anne's in the Willows, was destroyed in the fire of 1666. A new church was built by Wren in 1680 to replace it; in it ''the font is situated in the vestibule under the gallery; it is a neat circular basin, on an octagonal pillar, and covered with a canopy of carved wood-work.'' That font was destroyed in the bombings of London, as noted in Blatch (1995): ''The tall, circular font of white veined marble standing on an elegant pedestal was made after the War to replace one which came from St. Mildred's, Bread Street, and is a copy of it, except for the decoration. The cover is carved in high relief with leaves and rosettes, and has a gold and red crown.'' [NB: the old church dated back to Norman times, but we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church]

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: round (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

REFERENCES

Allen, Thomas, The History and Antiquities of London, Wsetminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent, London: published by George Virtue, 26 Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, [1839?]
Blatch, Mervyn, Guide to London's churches (2. ed.), London: Constable, 1995