Felsham

Parker (1855) notes an octagonal of the Perpendicular period "with panelled bowl". The font is described and illustrated in Knott (2007?), who states that there are actually two font in one here: "The panels on the side of the base were carved in reliefs of green men, fish, a cleric, a serpent perhaps. Only the top two thirds of each panel appeared to be visible, although I have no idea if the rest is sunk into the ground or if it was chopped off. The 14th century bowl has been filled in, and the 15th century font set on top. I have no idea if it happened at the 19th century restoration or was a construction by the medieval rebuilders". The octagonal basin of the font has vertical sides deeply carved with busy tracery that includes windows, floral motifs, quatrefoils and blank shields; at the angles of the underbowl are angel heads; the octagonal stem is plain, and has a slightly splaying and short lower base, octagonal and plain; the bigger lower base appears to be, as Knott states [cf. supra] the basin of another font, into which has been fitted most of the lower base of the font above, the space filled with mortar of some sort and smoothed over; the sides of this lower base and former basin have ogee arches in which are inscribed a number of items, some of which are only partially visible as the bottom part appears to have been either cut, or partially buried and covered with a false chamfer; only five of the eight sides are visible, the three at the back are now hidden by the kneeling stone set against it: [from the left]: 1)the top of a face with heavy eye brows, perhaps a Green Man? 2)an animal, perhaps a fabulous animal or monster, its tail raised over its back; 3)the front or east side: a demi-figure, perhaps a cleric? 4)a marine (?) animal, fabulous animal or monster, its tail with a head [amphisbaena?]; 5)another partial face, like no.1: perhaps a Green Man? All of them under ogee arches..