Showing posts with label saltire crosses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saltire crosses. Show all posts

Saturday, 5 September 2015

Winterbourne Stoke, Wiltshire

A late summer Saturday in Winterbourne Stoke seems to be dominated by the relentless traffic on the A303 (queues partly caused by a pair of font botherers trying to cross from one side to the other). But immediately off the main road, the village has cute Wiltshire cottages and the traffic soon seems worlds away.

St Peter's has a simple tub-shaped Norman font, at some point raised up on a plinth so it looks very gobletesque. It was topped by a hideous cover (photo here by Trish Steel) which to us looked pretty ridiculous and out of place. But now the cover is a Piece of History and there'll be no chance of chopping it up for firewood, which is a shame :)



Outside over the north doorway were some excellent carvings, some much eroded by the weather before the little porch was built. Some had been replaced. I'm not sure even how to describe them, perhaps shuttlecock shaped with double saltire crosses.

The drawing on the right is the capital of the right-hand column. It was rather organic and sinuous. I'm glad these are now protected by the porch. The south doorway was also Norman but much plainer.

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Codford St Peter, Wiltshire

This church is more famous for its amazing Anglo-Saxon carving. But I was rather taken with the similar-but-different sides of the Norman font too.

My pen and watercolour drawing of the four sides of the font.
At a glance, the sides look pretty similar. But I like the way there are seven flower stars with seven saltire crosses one side, yet six are matched with eight saltire crosses on another. The five vegetationy scrolls get two crosses each, and the six plain arches get nine altogether. The bowl's a bit wonky too.

Images © Rhiannon 2014