Fantastic Fonts
The Hundred Parishes Society is not a church or religious organisation but we encourage visits to churches because they are often the oldest and most interesting building in any community. Most of our churches are open regularly and welcome visitors.
Our website www.hundredparishes.org.uk has many short articles, including some about various aspects of churches including bells, clocks, memorials, poppyheads, spires, towers and windows. We recently added an article about church fonts, some of which appears in the next few paragraphs.
Fonts hold holy water which is used to ‘baptise’ people, an initiation into the Christian faith. They are often situated near the church entrance. Our local churches have a great variety of fonts, usually made of stone. For example . . .
- St. George’s church in Anstey has an 11th-century font that is rare in that it is decorated with mermen (the male equivalent of mythical mermaids) holding their tails.
- Thorley church has a 12th-century font. It was removed from the church and for many years was used as a drinking trough on a nearby farm before being reintroduced into the church in 1855. Its ornate cover was designed by George Gilbert Scott, a prolific architect known mainly for his work designing and renovating churches and cathedrals.
- Chickney church has a carved stone font from the 14th century. The bowl is lavishly decorated including shields bearing the coats of arms of local Braybrook and Fitzwalter families.
- Debden’s 18th-century font is made of Coade stone and is richly decorated with roses and heraldry.
Over the last couple of years, I have been giving a talk entitled “A peek inside some Hundred Parishes churches” to local groups. The talk is a PowerPoint presentation with many photos. If your group might be interested, please contact me on .
Ken McDonald, Secretary
