The Font - All Saints' Church - Church Lawton, Stoke- on- Trent, Staffordshire. - Stone Church Artefacts on Waymarking.com

All Saints' Church is a Grade 11 listed building located on Church Lane,
off Liverpool Road West in Church Lawton. (visit link)

William the Conqueror's Domesday Survey refers to the area as "Lautune" and says that it belonged to Hugo de Mara, one of the kings fellow Normans. The whole of the County of Cheshire had been given over to the King's brother in law, Hugh Lupus (Hugh the Wolf), a character notorious for his riotous living who, on his deathbed, vowed to establish a church at Lawton, "If the Lord would only spare him." This is a version of how the first church came to be built. The church lands were passed over to the Abbot of St. Werburgh's at Chester, a place of worship was erected and the Abbot appointed one Edward as the first Rector of Lawton in the year 1180. The architectural remain of this earliest church is the Norman Arch doorway over the south door.

The Church building itself undoubtedly underwent a number of changes over it's eight centuries and may well have been a black and white type with a thatched roof, but there are only artists impressions of how it may have looked. There is mention in the Churchwarden's accounts of 1691 and 1707 of the purchase of "15 bags of moss for ye church roof" which suggests that the building was of wattle and daub. Source: (visit link)

The oldest part of the church is the reset south doorway which is Norman in style. The Perpendicular tower dates from the 16th century. In 1798 the body of the church was destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in Neoclassical style. The tower is in sandstone and the body of the church is in brick with a tiled roof. Along the sides of the church are round-headed windows and lunettes, and at the east end is a Venetian window. Source: (visit link)

The church has a mid 18th century stone font which was found in two parts as for a number of years after it came out of liturgical use it had served as a bird-bath in the Rectory garden.
The stone font is hexagonal in shape on a hexagonal pillar and base. There are patterns engraved on each side. It has an ornate dark wooden cover.
Around 1236 Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury gave instructions that all covers to fonts should be securely locked.

Approximate Age of Artefact: 18th century Relevant Website: [Web Link]

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