The Font
The church’s most famous feature and greatest treasure is its finely carved font, which is located at the west end of the nave. Dating from the mid to late 12th century, the font is made from Caen stone imported from Normandy.
A close inspection of the font reveals that its carved design incorporates ten semi-circular arched compartments inside which both human figures and foliage are depicted. The largest of these compartments faces the altar and shows a scene of the Crucifixion of Christ set between images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist, who is wiping a tear from his eye. The large carved roundel pierced with small holes which surrounds Christ would once have been set with precious stones.
Five of the other nine arched compartments contain scrolled foliage, leaving four panels with figures. The tonsured, beardless figure in the south-west compartment is probably St Peter as he appears to be holding the keys of Heaven, his traditional symbol. The next figure on the south side is likely to be St Paul, the other saint in the dedication of the church. The figure in the north-west panel appears to be a cleric, perhaps a vicar of the church. Meanwhile the final compartment on the north face shows a long-haired woman holding an ointment jar. This is probably St Mary Magdalene who was believed to have anointed Christ’s feet.
The church’s oldest treasure is companion to its newest. This is a beautiful carved wooden font cover representing Living Water, the work of local born artist Victoria Walpole. It was commissioned in 2020