The eye-catching font, near the west end of the church, is of
special interest to many visitors.
The stone base of the font is late 15th century. Each of the
eight faces, the shaft and the base are carved. The sepia
photograph shows the font with a low stone plinth before the
ornate cover was added.
The font is now raised on two deep steps and is surmounted
by an ornate spire-shaped cover, designed by Walter Tapper and made
in 1899 to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.
Inside the font cover are carvings of Edward the
Confessor, St. Hugh and St. Wulfram.
Low stone plinth.
15th century base.
The Font & Cover
Inside the font cover.
The carved stonework of the font is badly weathered and
mutilated, and it is difficult to determine the designs.
They appear to show:
- The Annunciation: the Archangel kneels and the Virgin Mary also
seems to kneel.
- The Nativity.
- The Circumcision of Presentation in the Temple
- The Baptism of Jesus: the dove descending
- Christ blessing little children
- The Transfiguration (?)
- The sacrifice of Isaac; a ram under a tree.
- Three crowned kings, seated: the Magi.
On the undersides of the bowl are emblems and devices: the
pelican in its piety and the Tudor rose are unmistakable. Four
others are suggestive of the emblems of the Evangelists - the
angel, the lion, the ox and the eagle, all winged.
On the shaft there are seven figures under canopies, the eight
space left vacant. The only clearly identified is of St. Andrew
with his cross.
On the base are carved roses, quatrefoils and masks.
It has been suggested that the occurrence of the Tudor rose and
the emblem of the Corpus Christi point to the donor of the font as
Richard Fox, native of Ropsley near Grantham, Keeper of the Privy
Seal to Henry VII and VIII and Bishop of Winchester, and re-founder
and benefactor of Grantham's Grammar School.