Patney, Wiltshire

Mr Pevsner must have been in a tremendous rush at least a lot of the time - or how would he ever have written all those books. Sometimes he's very laconic in his font descriptions, and sometimes he doesn't mention them at all. So I'm always on the lookout for alternative sources of Leads.

I was reading 'Some Wiltshire Fonts' by A G Randle Buck (surely a man after B and my hearts) and he mentioned the one at Patney, just near Devizes. "Similar to the one at Stockton, and over the junction of the scallops is a curl ornament." - he also mentions similarities to the one I've seen at Yatesbury. So it sounds lovely, how could one refuse.

We parked nearby and set off up armed with the usual materials and clutching Pevsner (I like to think it makes us look more legit).

CC image by Nigel Cox.

I noticed nothing at the gate, but as we walked through the graveyard I started vaguely thinking 'well how nice, someone's gone to the trouble of looking after lots of little plants in plant pots'. Like B it was only when the shape of a lampstand in one of the transparent windows made its way slowly into my brain, that I computed the evidence - someone had bought the church and turned it into a house. We hot-footed it away.

In retrospect I suppose we could have experimentally banged on the door - I doubt they get a lot of visitors wanting to draw the font. I do hope they've still got it and are looking after it. I can't find a photo of it.

I kept thinking afterwards was that it would be a right pain to mow round all the gravestones. To be fair the churchyard was extremely well-kept :)