Bois-de-Lessines / Bos de Lecines / Bos de Lessines / Bos del Sinne / Lessenbos

Baptismal font of stone listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10039012] [accessed 22 April 2026]: "fonts baptismaux [...] pierre [...] Date: 1601 - 1700 [...] inscription, gravé, sur la cuve: NP PM PI PDB 1722: [...] hauteur avec couvercle: 173 cm [...] couvercle en cuivre et laiton h.56; Date: 1801 - 1810".
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 28 March 2026) informs: "Bois-de-Lessines, église Saints-Gervais et Protais. Flemish name : Lessenbos. 1186 Bos de Lessines, 1213 Bos de Lecines. The village's origins are undeniably linked to the clearing of the woods around the town of Lessines. From 1252 to 1266, the hospital Notre-Dame à la Rose of Lessines acquired property in the newly reclaimed fields. The castle of the local lords (the Estriverie family), that still exists, is first mentioned at the end of the 13th century. Bois-de-Lessines was one of the villages that formed part of the "terres de débats” (lands of disputes) which, from the last quarter of the 13th century onwards, were a constant source of contention between the County of Hainaut and the County of Flanders. Its location on the border between these two counties and its proximity to Lessines also meant that it suffered from the conflicts and wars in which this border region was involved from the 15th century to the mid-18th century. The parish of Bois-de-Lessines is very old and may have resulted by a division of the Lessines parish. It is believed to have been founded in the 12th century by missionaries from the metropolitan chapter of Notre-Dame de Cambrai. At that time, it possessed a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Cambrai, built at the highest point of the village. A Gothic building succeeded this chapel on the same site as the current church. Already in 1447, it had been dedicated to Saint Gervais and Saint Protais. The current classical church was built in 1784 and possesses a bell dating from 1363. It was enlarged in 1843. The church houses the reliquary containing the relics of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidelis_of_Sigmaringen). The provenance of his reliquary is the lost chapel of Saint-Nicolas at Lessines, that probably dated back to the 12th century, and lay in ruins in 1762. Saint Fidèle was the object of a major pilgrimage. Baptismal records : from 1603 onwards. Typical limestone baroque font from the beginning of the 17th century. Hainaut-type. Several neighbouring churches have similar fonts. Later (?) inscription on basin : NP PM PI PDB 1722:
https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10039012 "