Leadwork Part 3

England is extremely rich in the possession of early fonts in lead; these are for the most part alike in being of the twelfth or early thirteenth century. Nearly all of them agree in being circular and have other similarities which with many repet.i.tions in their design would seem to relate them to one family. As in Suss.e.x there are in the neighbouring villages of Edburton and Piecombe two fonts substantially alike, and in Gloucestershire another pair, with others that have close resemblances; they have been claimed for local manufacture, yet a strong case could be made out for most of them coming from one common centre.

As, further, there are several specimens in Normandy entirely parallel, the question arises whether the type arose here or there, for there can be no doubt as to one set being indebted to the other. As England was so especially a lead producing and exporting country, and as such a number of these fonts remain with us broadly scattered over the country, while there are but comparatively few in France, and those mostly in Normandy, this, with the local coincidences pointed out, would seem to give us the best claim.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 26.--Vessel, Lewes Museum.]

There is in the Lewes Museum a lead cistern-like object of Saxon work, which is represented in Fig. 26. It is about 14 inches long and 8 inches high, the sides are decorated with triangles of interlacing patterns cast with the lead. It has two handles of iron; but as it would be much too heavy for a movable vessel, and as the small foreign lead font in Kensington Museum has handles also, it is probably a font. The cross in the decoration would go to confirm this.

Some of the fonts of Norman date it cannot be doubted were made in England. But unless we would claim the two figured by Viollet-le-Duc and that at St. Evrault-le-Montford which is similar to ours at Brookland described below, we can hardly claim to have made all our own.

Possibly examples were brought here, as was the case with several black stone fonts in England.

Some of these lead fonts (that at Wareham for instance) appear to have been cast in one piece. But for the most part they are small low cylinders cast flat in sheet with the ornaments repeated usually more than once in the sand mould; the casting was then bent round and soldered. In one case, where it is not joined so as to form a cylinder, but with the sides spreading to the top, the band of ornamentation which was straight on the sheet runs up as it approaches the joint in a most amusing way. The patterns consist of delicate scroll-work, arcades and boldly modelled figures 10 or 12 inches high; a moulding strengthens the upper and lower edges. They stand on stone pedestals.

There are altogether some twenty-eight or thirty of these fonts in England.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 27.--Font, Brookland, Kent.]

The font at Brookland at Kent is very small, only 11 inches high, an arcade surrounds it of two stages in twelve bays. In the upper tier are the signs of the Zodiac with their Latin names, and below the subjects of the labours appropriate to the months with their names in Norman French. This scheme of imagery is well known abroad but while often occurring in English MSS. this is one of very few examples of its treatment in sculpture. Although the scale of the figures is small and they are but slightly modelled, there is a great deal of character, appropriateness, and grace, in their gesture.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 28.--Font, Brookland.]

A comparative table of the usual scenes which accompany the signs has been given in _Archaeologia_, and another, probably more accessible, in the _Stones of Venice_. With the examples there given the scenes on the font very closely agree. They are inscribed in capitals:--

AQUARIUS.--JANVIER. A Ja.n.u.s-headed figure feasting.

PISCES.--FEVRIER. Warming feet at fire.

ARIES.--MARS. Man hooded and pruning a vine.

TAURUS.--AVRIL. Young girl with lilies in her hand.

GEMINI.--MAI. Man on horse, hawk on wrist.

CANCER.--JUIN. Mowing with a scythe.

LEO.--JULIUS. Man with wide brim hat raking hay.

VIRGO.--AOUT. Cutting corn.

LIBRA.--SEPTEMBRE. Threshing corn.

SCORPIO.--OCTOBRE. Treading out wine.

SAGITTARIUS.--NOVEMBRE. Woman lighting with candles the next scene, or feeding the pigs.

CAPRICORNUS.--DECEMBRE. Man, killing swine with axe.

The signs are thus represented:--Aquarius, man pouring water from a jug.

Pisces, two fish as usual reversed. The ram and the bull are much alike.

The twins and the crab are not remarkable, except the latter for unlikeness. Leo is a good heraldic beast. The Virgin, much obscured.

Libra, a man with scales. Scorpio, is certainly a frog. Sagittarius, a centaur. Capricorn is indeed a capricious creature like a c.o.c.katrice with horns. The forequarters of a goat with fish-tail is the traditional form for this sign handed on from the Roman Zodiac.

In the months, the Mower, the man raking, and especially the Reaper, are well designed; the man pruning is also good, and the girl with the long stalked lilies in her hand is charming. The four last are shown in the sketches given. The pillars are varied, every third standing on the loop as shown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 29.--Font, Edburton, Suss.e.x.]

The font at Edburton in Suss.e.x is 21 inches in diameter and 14 inches high; it has a wide band of foliage and at the top a row of trefoil panels. At Piecombe, the adjoining parish, the upper row of small trefoil arches and the narrow band of ornament are the same, but instead of the lower panels there is a row of round-headed arches.

At Lancourt, or Llancault, and Tedenham in Gloucestershire there are fonts in duplicate. These are much larger, 2 feet 8 inches in diameter by 1 foot 7 inches high. An arcade of twelve arches surrounds the bowl; each compartment has a throned figure or a panel of foliage alternately.

There are two varieties of figure and foliage, each is thrice repeated and the little columns are twisted and decorated. These two fonts are evidently of the twelfth century.[11] At Frampton-on-Severn is a font with similar seated figures and foliage.

[11] For engravings see _Archaeologia_, vol. xxix.

At Wareham in Dorsetshire the font is hexagonal with two standing figures under arches in each face, twelve altogether. The sides instead of being vertical slope outwards. The style seems central Norman not transitional, like several of the examples.

At Dorchester, Oxfordshire, the bowl is 2 feet 1 inch diameter 14 inches deep, it has an arcade wholly of seated figures of bishops. It is a very beautiful work, the figures are extremely well modelled, and the whole in good condition, the lead of great substance.

Walton-on-the-hill, Surrey, has a similar font 14 inches high, surrounded by an arcade, and in each compartment a sitting figure. A sketch of one arch given is necessarily rough, as the modelling, even at first soft and sketchy, has suffered some injury in the use of 700 years.

At Wansford, Northamptonshire, is another of these with arcades and figures.[12]

[12] _See_ Parker's _Glossary_, vol. iii.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 30.--Font, Walton, Surrey.]

At Childrey, in Berkshire, there is also a font with twelve mitred bishops with pastoral staffs and books.

Another at Long-Wittenham, in the same county, has the arcade at bottom of very tiny pointed arches of some thirty bays with figures, above are panels with discs and rosettes.[13] One at Warborough, in Oxfordshire, is similar in style, made in the same workshop apparently. The bottom half has a small arcade interrupted after every four arches by three higher ones: in the twelve small niches are figures of bishops with mitre and staff and lifted hand in benediction, the three high arches and the s.p.a.ce above the little ones have discs of ornament, the bishops are repeated from one pattern; the size is 1-3 in height by 2-2 diameter.[14]

[13] See _Archaeological Journal_, vol. ii.

[14] _See_ Paley's _Fonts_.

Woolhampton, in Berkshire, has a font in which the lead is placed over stone and pierced, leaving an arcade and figures showing against the stone background.

The font at Parham is of later Gothic. Mr. Andre gives an account of it in Vol. 32, _Suss.e.x Archaeological Society_; it is only 18 inches in diameter, and a portion of the bottom is hidden by being sunk into the stone block on which it stands. The decoration is made by repeats of a label bearing + IHC NAZAR placed alternately upright and horizontally with small shields in the inters.p.a.ces which are said to bear the arms of Andrew Peverell, knight of the shire in 1351. The style of the lettering would seem earlier than this. IHC NAZAR was frequently engraved on the front of knights' helmets. This is an extremely good example of how a fine design may be made of simplest elements.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 31.--Parham, Suss.e.x.]

A Norman font of lead at Great Plumstead was destroyed with the church in the fire of December, 1891. It is figured by Cotman.[15]

[15] _Arch. Remains_, vol. i., series 2.

The font at Avebury, Wiltshire, has often erroneously been stated to be of lead; there is a resemblance in the design, but it is of stone painted.

At Ashover, Derbyshire, the stone font has leaden statues of the Apostles.

There is a seventeenth century lead font at Clunbridge, Gloucestershire.

A complete list as far as possible follows:--