Baaigem / Badengem / Badingahem

Baptismal font listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/11255] [accessed 28 January 2026]: "doopvont [...] arduin, koper ]...] hoogte: 100 cm; hoogte: 163 cm [with the cover] Date: 1601 - 1700".
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 6 January 2026) informs: "villa Badingahem, Badengem. The dedication to Saint Bavo stemmed from the connection with Saint Bavo's Abbey in Ghent. The village likely goes back to an early medieval foundation (between the late 7th and mid-9th century) of Saint Bavo's Abbey on its own grounds. The church was first mentioned around 1020 in a letter from the abbot of that abbey to Otgiva of Luxembourg, Countess of Flanders. It had previously been taken away from Saint Bavo's Abbey by Count Arnulf I. In 1096, at the behest of the Bishop of Cambrai, the right of patronage passed into the hands of Saint Peter's Abbey in Dikkelvenne, which wa s soon relocated and became Saint Adrian's Abbey in Geraardsbergen. Even later, the Bishop of Cambrai granted this right to Anchin Abbey. The church was part of the villa Badengem. At the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century, a small Romanesque building was constructed from irregular blocks of Tournai limestone. A westward extension was added as early as the second half of the twelfth century. In the following centuries, many Gothic modifications were made, using Balegem sandstone. Iconoclasts in the 16th century primarily targeted the church's interior. Almost every object was destroyed or removed in 1566. As a result of the religious unrest, there was no resident priest between 1587 and 1625. The Anchin Abbey only began the reconstruction in the early 17th century. Repeated modifications did not affect the building's essence. In 1913, the church was reconsecrated after a significant expansion. Baptismal registers from 1669 onwards. 17th century limestone baroque Hainaut-type font with baluster column and gadroons. Design of column and of gadroons point to second halve of 17th c. Could for example be 1669. Older font was probably destroyed in 1566. https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/11255"