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Meaning of the Font

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Steve M




Joined : 05 Jan 2008
Posts : 502
Location : Yatesbury, Wiltshire

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:46 pm
June - looking at the little Shire book I was on about ('Church Fonts' by Norman Pounds) it looks to be 12th C Norman. Compare with these:

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BumblingB




Joined : 19 Jan 2008
Posts : 215

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:12 pm
june wrote:
Can anyone help me on this one. I took some photos inside the little church at Hinton Parva the other day (St Swithun's). The information inside the church said the font was Saxon but after searching the internet the only Saxon fonts I could find were very basic and plain. The inside of the church seems to be a mixture of 11th and 12th century (I need the accurate information for a little ongoing project I'm working on). Any info would be much appreciated - thanks in advance.



That page break was in an inconvenient place so I thought to copy you over to this page June.
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BumblingB




Joined : 19 Jan 2008
Posts : 215

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:29 pm
There is a photograph of this font in an edition of WAM only the image shows a similar but not the same font. There is also a substantial passage on it. The article is in four parts, this font is in the second part and each has a string of b&w photos of fonts :

A.G. Randle Buck, 'Some Wiltshire Fonts' Pt. I Vol. LIII pp. 458-470
Pt. II Vol. LIV pp. 19-35
Pt. III Vol. LIV pp. 192-209
Pt. Vol. IV 429-434.

Just found I have that one, the author was evidently struck by something as the bit on Hinton Parva is four pages!

Have you access to WAM easily?
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june




Joined : 07 Jan 2008
Posts : 471
Location : Wiltshire

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:32 am
Many thanks to both Steve and BB for your replies. I did look back on your previous post Steve and I am sure you are correct - I wonder why the church people at Hinton Parva think it is Saxon. There are some lovely arches in the the church, the 11th century ones are plain whilst the 12th century ones are more ornate. It is a simple litt church overall.

BB I don't know how to access WAM online and would be grateful for some pointers in that direction - I would be happy to go off to the Reference Library as well if needs be.

Thanks again for your time and trouble both.
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moss




Joined : 22 May 2008
Posts : 26

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:53 am
Checking on Pevsner's Wiltshire, he says of the font
"Norman, with one band of arcading and one partly of wild knotwork, partly with animals in a disorderly arrangment; a twisted snake with two birds pecking at it and two fishes near by, a quadruped seemingly sitting on its behind, and in fact on a bird"
Its a very simple design, presumably early Norman, it doesnt have the 'feel' of saxon at all.....
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tonyh




Joined : 15 Jan 2008
Posts : 850
Location : Surrey

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:14 am
june wrote:
Many thanks to both Steve and BB for your replies. I did look back on your previous post Steve and I am sure you are correct - I wonder why the church people at Hinton Parva think it is Saxon. There are some lovely arches in the the church, the 11th century ones are plain whilst the 12th century ones are more ornate. It is a simple litt church overall.

BB I don't know how to access WAM online and would be grateful for some pointers in that direction - I would be happy to go off to the Reference Library as well if needs be.

Thanks again for your time and trouble both.


Of the Front..

A dog-like beast looks back over its own shoulder and spews out great coils of foliage around a Norman tub font. The beast stands apparently on a wall, at right-angles to the ground in apparent defiance of gravity, its bottom resting on the tail of a bird. It is all most unlikely and rather charming, especially as one follows the foliage around the font and finds a cock, a hen, two fish and a swirling serpent
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BumblingB




Joined : 19 Jan 2008
Posts : 215

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:29 am
The reason it was thought Saxon is beacuse C.E.Ponting produuced an account of the church stating there was a church there earlier and the font was Saxon. This appears in WAM XXX pp. 193-7. Although of the font he does add the proviso 'unless the deplorable recutting of the carving is entirely misleading'.

study
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june




Joined : 07 Jan 2008
Posts : 471
Location : Wiltshire

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:41 pm
Many thanks to all for the replies, and for clearing up the mystery of why it was thought to be Saxon, BB. I had made an entry about Hinton Parva on a blog I started a while back about Hidden Swindon so I will amend it this evening. I was surprised to learn that both Hinton Parva and Bishopstone come under Swindon Borough Council and both have been designated as Conservation areas by SBC.

In the brief research I managed to do yesterday (in my lunch-break) I looked at some pictures of Saxon fonts and could see straight away they were very different. Very interesting indeed.
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tonyh




Joined : 15 Jan 2008
Posts : 850
Location : Surrey

PostSubject: Re: Meaning of the Font   Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:59 pm
I'll bung me picture in here..

The Saxon Church at Alton Barnes

A Cheat HDR.

Tony

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