Claycoton / Clay Coton / Clay-Coton

Main image for Claycoton / Clay Coton / Clay-Coton

Image copyright © Ian Rob, 2005

CC-BY-SA-2.0

Results: 1 records

view of church exterior - southeast view

the former church, now a private residence [cf. Font notes]
Scene Description: the former church, now a private residence [cf. Font notes]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Ian Rob, 2005
Image Source: digital photograph taken 1 October 2005 by Ian Rob [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/59876] [accessed 3 April 2009]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

INFORMATION

Font ID: 14362CLA
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Date: ca. 1340?
Font Century and Period/Style: 14th century (mid?), Decorated
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Andrew [now a private dwelling]
Font Location in Church: [cf. FontNotes]
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Andrew
Site Location: Northamptonshire, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located 6.5 km SW of Welford, 11 km NE of Rugby
Historical Region: Hundred of Guilsborough
Additional Comments: disappeared font? Two fonts? emailed the Diocese (Peterborough) in Northampton asking for whereabouts of the old font (31 March 2009)//mt -- Reply received: "Thank you for your enquiry about the Clay Coton font. I have searched the files on this redundant church in order to see what I can find out. The most pertinent entry concerning the font is an extract from The Diocesan Calendar for 1867, which carries an account of the re-opening of the church following extensive restoration "on December 5, 1866, the church was re-opened after having been almost wholly rebuilt"). In this account it is stated "the font is a new one". There is no reference to what may have happened to the original font, presumably the one referred to in Whellan (1849), but this would suggest that the font dealt with at the time of the redundancy was a Victorian addition to the church. At the time of the redundancy of the church, it was initially proposed that the font would be broken up and the stone disposed of along with other stone from the church, but a letter from the then vicar (dated 24 June 1976) states that the font had been removed for sale. There is no record in the file of whether the sale took place or of the destination of the font. Following these entries, there is no further reference to the font. Yours sincerely -- Paul Middleton -- DAC Secretary -- Diocese of Peterborough -- The Palace -- Peterborough"
Font Notes:
Noted in Parker (1849): "The is extremely rude." In Whellan (1849), after Parker (1849). Pevsner & Cherry (1973) report that the church was "disused, and threatened with demolition" in 1971 [NB: the Midland Churches entry for this church [http://professor-moriarty.com/moriarties/midland_churches/2008/12/06/clay-coton-st-andrew/] [accessed 31 March 2009] informs: "Built in 1340 the parish church of Clay Coton, Northamptonshire became disused in the 1950. In 2000 it was converted into a private dwelling." -- BSI followed up with request for information to the Diocese of Peterborough, which kindly reported that this church re-opened on 5 December 1966 following a extensive renovation of this church and there is a record of a new font being installed at the time, but no information on the fate of the older font. When the church became redundant the Victorian font was removed for sale [letter of 24 June 1976 from the Vicar], but there is no record in the Diocese's archives of whether the sale took place or the final destination of the font].
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Paul Middleton, DAC Secretary, Diocese of Peterborough, for his kind help in documenting this font

COORDINATES

UTM: 30U 627288 5805736
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 52.38706, -1.1296
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 52° 23′ 13.42″ N, 1° 7′ 46.56″ W

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone

REFERENCES

  • Parker, John Henry, Architectural notices of the churches of the Archdeaconry of Northampton: Deaneries of Higham Ferrers and Haddon, London; Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1849, p. 213
  • Whellan, William, History, gazetteer, and directory of Northamptonshire, comprising a general survey of the county, and a history of the Diocese of Peterborough: with separate [...], London: Whittaker & Co., Ave Maria Lane, 1849, p. 350 / [http://books.google.ca/books?id=dhAHAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA442&lpg=RA1-PA442&dq=aynho+church+font&source=bl&ots=Trdc4a8vGv&sig=Ev4eeBfJWWwb64uB3bddAOSSxVI&hl=en&ei=uBzJSfGUBIjOMpCb-ekD&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPR1,M1] [accessed 24 March 2009]