London No. 57 / Hupenhulle / East Cheap / Eastcheap

INFORMATION

Font ID: 13619LON
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 17th - 18th century
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Mary
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the W end of the S aisle [cf. FontNotes about the 1988 fire]
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Mary the Virgin
Site Location: Greater London, South East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located on Lovat Lane, between Eastcheap and the Thames
Additional Comments: disappeared fonts? Probably several of them over the centuries
Font Notes:
Tyack (1899) cites churchwardens' records of font-related expenditures "in the early sixteenth century 'for water to be hallowed' at Easter even." Allen (1839?) notes ''at the west end of the south aisle is a large and handsome font of marble, of an octangular form, more modern than the period of the fire'' [i.e., the London fire of 1666]. Blatch (1995) does not mention the marble font, but reports that the fire of 1988 destroyed much of the interior and furnishings [NB: it is not clear whether the marble font was just damaged, and awaiting restoration, or it was totally destroyed]. [NB: the church itself goes back to Norman times, but we do not have any information on the the earlier font(s) of this church; the original church was probably 12th-century; the 15th-century church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666; the church was re-built in the 1670s by Wren, and renovated several times in the later centuries]

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, marble
Font Shape: octagonal, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal

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?], p. 115 / [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BVEGAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA717&lpg=RA1-PA717&dq=queenhithe+church+font&source=web&ots=9dzBGxXJDM&sig=mvPDHDDOyNJa-B_jKtBxJr4-Ny4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result] [accessed 16 July 2008]
  • Blatch, Mervyn, Guide to London's churches (2. ed.), London: Constable, 1995, p. 125-126
  • Tyack, George Smith, Lore and legend of the English Church, London: W. Andrews, 1899, p. 160