John E. Vigar MA, FSA Scot., FRSA

Lead Fonts of England

 

As we travel around England, we occasionally come across fonts made of metal. In own time an amazing stainless-steel font has been placed in Salisbury Cathedral and many churches use a metal bowl at the front of the church. However, metal fonts have been used for centuries and over 30 medieval examples survive in our parish churches, dating from the 11th to the 17th centuries.

There must have been many more, but lead is easily damaged and can be reused for other purposes.

There are a group of 6 identical fonts in Gloucestershire that must have been cast from the same mould.

A characteristic of the early fonts is the arcading around the bowl, which can be plain or contain figures. One at Walton on the Hill in Surrey has both arcading, figures and foliage decoration.

Continue reading
  4067 Hits

Latest Blogs from John

It`s been a busy few weeks for me as I continue to research my Churches of Essex book for publication in 2025. I`m now at the stage of revisiting the churches to photograph them for the book and have been delighted to have been accompanied by some em...
I am sadly having to sell some of my collection of church books. Just let me know if you would like to purchase any - postage will be charged at cost. Local Styles of the English Parish Church Addison, Sir William Batsford 1982 Hardback VG 2.5 Jordan...
    Happy New Year to you all.   It`s a quiet time of year when churchcrawling is only for the dedicated - so why not sit comfortably at home and attend my 4 session Zoom course exploring the wonderful Churches of Norfolk?   It ru...
Wishing you and those you love a very Happy Christmas. Detail of a stained glass window by Christopher Webb at Isfield Church, Sussex.   John...

Contact John Vigar Here

Please use this form to get in touch if you have any queries at all.

Invalid Input
Invalid Input
Invalid Input
Invalid Input
Invalid Input

Copyright © John E Vigar 2019Gingerweb Ltd site design and SEO In North Devon

Arts