Baptism Font - St Peter & St Paul - Shorne, Kent - Stone Church Artefacts on Waymarking.com

Medieval baptism font in St Peter & St Paul's church, Shorne.

"The Font is an interesting octagonal 15th century piece of stonework, carved on seven sides with suitable Christian subjects. They are:
(1) A chalice with wafer. The "Real Presence" is manifested by a small
human figure with radiated head.
(2) The baptism of Christ. The Baptist is using a jug
(3) St .Michael weighing souls. Compare this St. Michael with the stained glass St. Michael in the East window.
(4) The sacred monogram I.H.S. on a shield with quatrefoil.
(5) The Agnus Del
(6) St. Peter in pontifical robes holding a spired church in his right hand and a great key in his left.
(7) The resurrection.
There is a similar font in Southfleet church, but the carving differs, suggesting a medieval pun, The Agnus Dei at Southfleet is a wooly animal, whilst the one at Shorne is quite smooth -- a "shorn" lamb.
The blank eighth side of the font indicates it once stood against a wall or pillar, and from a comment made by a vicar some two hundred years ago, it seems it once stood against the eastern pillar of the central arch of the southern arcade of the nave. A broken bolt hole in the stonework of the central arch above the spot suggests the position of a hook or support for the font cover of those days. This older siting of the font affords confirmation of the suggestion that there was a south door in the middle of the wall of the south aisle, and that the tower with its western door formed no part of the church when the font was first sited near what was then perhaps the main door of the church."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Approximate Age of Artefact: Not listed Relevant Website: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please supply an original picture when visiting this waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.