Longnewton / Long Newton / Lang Newton

The 'Church Restorations' section of The Ecclesiologist (vol. 16, no. 108, June 1855: 193) reports: "Mr. Teulon has in hand the restoration [...] of this little church", and notes that "The font is to the right of the entrance". The Ecclessiologist's comments about the plans, and some additional warnings to the architect, appear to indicate that the restoration is at its initial stage, and the report on the font refers to the old font, still in the same place noted in Fordyce (1857): "a circular baptismal font stands on the right of the entrance". The Victoria County History (Durham, vol. 3, 1928) notes: "The advowson of Long Newton Church appears to have been held by the Bishops of Durham. [...] The value of the benefice was estimated at £20 a year in 1291 [...] The old church was nearly rebuilt in 1806 [...] entirely rebuilt in 1856–7"; there is no mention of a font in the VCH entry for this parish. An unsigned assessment report produced for the Diocese of Durham probably by Ryder, who did several other such reports for churches in the Diocese [www.durham.anglican.org/userfiles/file/Durham%20Website/Diocese%20and%20Admin/Care%20of%20Churches/Longnewton%20St%20Mary%20Archaeological%20Assessment.pdf], notes: "The octagonal Victorian Font , at the west end of the nave, has shafts of black crinoidal marble, and cusped panels on its principal faces. Mitchinson, writing before the 1850s remodelling (see footnote 2), describes the previous font as ‘ ancient, quite plain, and covered with paint’" [NB: the footnotte reads: "Durham University Library Addl. MS 324. DURHAM CHURCHES. A bound volume of notes, sketches and photographs presented to the Dean and Chapter of Durham by the Rt Revd John Mitchinson (1833-1918), 25 March 1914." According to Mitchinson's documents, then, the old font had survived the 1806 re-building but succumbed to the 1856-1857 restoration [by Teulon], when it was replaced by the present octagonal Victorian font. Although this seems contrary to Fordyce's own report of 1857 of having seen a circular font to the righ of the entrance in this church [cf. supra], we should assume that, though published in 1857, Fordyce had done his field-work earlier, and the restoration of the church started after his visit. The Ecclesiologist [cf. supra] reports the old font still in place in June 1855, and it must therefore have been Teulon who supplied the new font, as he did in many other churches he restored. [NB: we have no information on the present whereabouts of the ancient font].