Bazel / Barsela / Basel / Bersele / Sancti Petri in Barsela

The present font in this church is listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/59563] [accessed 10 January 2026]: "doopvont [...] Date: 1601 - 1700" [NB: the height given in this source, 170 cm, includes the metal cover]. [NB: the 1976 photograph in KIK-IRPA shows a font pedestal base consisting of two parts: the upper part is a round baluster-shaped column but the lower part is a shorter hexagonal block -- at present, the font in the church shows that the lower hexagonal part of the base has been removed and it rests directly only on the roround baluster colmn].
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 9 January 2026) informs: "Barsela (1156), Sancti Petri in Barsela (1323), Bersele. It is believed that the first fortification or moated castle was built in Basel as early as 884, commissioned by Baldwin II the Bald. The Romanesque place of worship had achieved the status of parish church before 964. There was a castle site adjacent to the church. In 1238, Raas van Barsele began construction of the new Wissekerke castle. The Romanesque church was replaced around 1364 by a Gothic cruciform building with a crossing tower. The oldest parts therefore date from the 14th century. From the thirteenth century onwards, the bishop of Tournai owned the church. When the parish of Basel was incorporated into the newly established diocese of Ghent in 1559, the first major renovations began. However, soon iconoclasts caused considerable damage between 1578 and 1587, as did the religious and military unrest around Antwerp. Restoration work began during the 17th century. The transept and crossing tower of the former 14th-century church were preserved. After a fire in 1879, the church was rebuilt in 1882. The baptismal font could well date from the time of the repair of the church after the damage caused by the iconoclasts. Baroque, limestone, Hainaut-type font on baluster column, with lifting apparatus for brass lid. https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/59563"