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Five seventeenth century fonts Muston font. Back in 2017 Neil Fortey sent me photographs of the font at Muston. And I mentally stumbled. At first glance it was a seemingly perfectly normal – though rather well-done – Perpendicular style font. So it should have been carved between the late fourteenth century and the middle of the sixteenth century. But – and it's the sort of 'but' which made me stop in my tracks – there was a small army of faces and heads with arms. There were far too many for this to be a typical piece of 'Perp' masonry as, by this time, things were a little more restrained than in the previous century or so. And, they looked very little like medieval Gothic carvings. Instead they reminded me of faces on seventeenth century wooden furniture. Indeed, this font seems to have been carved in the later 1630s as John Nichols in his History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester refers to it as being 'new in 1641'. This was during the time William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury and there was a countrywide spree of church restoration. Since 2017 I have come across a short list of 'Laudian' fonts (Bond 1908: 265). They are: Byford, Herefordshire, 1638 East Ham, Essex [now London], 1639 Great Greenford, Middlesex [now London], 1638 Rackheath Magna, Norfolk, 1639 Byford's font is also octagonal but with almost no decoration except the date (though perhaps originally painted). None of the other three fonts are deemed significant enough for there to be photographs online. Immediately to the north-west of Muston is the superb church at Bottesford. Neil Fortey and myself had a lengthy discussion while looking at the curious font in the church at Bottesford. Could it be contemporary with Muston? Bottesford font. Photograph by Neil Fortey. The presence of tulips on one of the panels would be consistent with about 1637, the peak of 'tulip mania'. The Bottesford font is considerably more elaborate than the one at Muston, reflecting the high status of the Manners family. However the decoration was not admired by all. In 1908 Francis Bond wrote: … hanging would not be good enough for those who wrought the fonts of Tuxford and Bottesford. Tuxford is in the north of Nottinghamshire and originally straddled the Great North Road; the A1 now bypasses the centre but still divides the settlement. The only photograph of the font online appears to show a plain octagonal design, although with an exceptionally elaborate wooden font cover. I have made three attempts to visit but the church is always locked. Bond, although disapproving, implies a 1660s date for both Bottesford and Tuxford. At the time Charles Read, born in Tuxford in 1604 was a wealthy benefactor and may have sponsored the font and cover before his death in 1669. Despite Bond's tactless linking of these two fonts, the lack of other similarities between Bottesford and Tuxford does nothing to refine the date for the former. Orston font. To the west of Bottesford and still quite close to Muston, but the other side of the border between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, is Orston. Once I set my eyes upon the font around 2018 I realised that in the seventeenth century Orston churchwardens were playing 'keeping up with the Jones' with Bottesford. Or was it the other way about? Not because the design of the Orston font has the 'wedding cake confection' design which Bond thought so objectionable. But because one of the panels depicts a vase of tulips. And, most helpful of all, there was a dedication. Dated 1662. If tulips were still in fashion in Orston in 1662 then there is every probability that they were still in fashion in Bottesford at this time too. By the way Orston's font was presented by Mrs Constantia Kerchevall. Orston font. The intense colours of tulips made them the most fashionable flowers from 1637 until the eighteenth century when Dutch florists started creating new varieties of hyacinths. These became a status symbol for the elite, especially after Madame de Pompadour (official mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751) grew hyacinths in palace gardens and used them to decorate rooms and clothing. A 'chance encounter' with the font at Tithby/Tythby early 2025 revealed it is embellished very prominently with '1662' in raised letters plus the initials 'T.S. MD', and further initials on the base: 'CW'. Clearly the initials of the donors who funded the bowl and the base. Restoration works were taking place around Cropwell Bishop's font when I visited in 2025. Not far away is Cropwell Bishop. The Historic England Listing states 'font with cover (circa 1662)'. When I visited in 2025 the cover was nowhere to be seen. The font is octagonal but undecorated. Why were new fonts needed? Medieval fonts with images of saints would have been broken up by iconoclasts in the mid-sixteenth century. I have a hunch that the main suspect for the damage to the fonts at Bottesford, Muston, Orston and Tithby would have been Henry, 2nd Earl of Rutland (1526–1563), who was known for his extreme Protestant views. His tomb is in the chancel of Bottesford church under a depiction of a wooden communion table which replaced the pre-Reformation stone altar. We can reasonably assume that the furore Henry created when removing the old altar and insisting on the use of the wooden table let to his effigy commemorating both him and his most notorious 'achievement'. Why 1662? So five seventeenth century fonts. One from the 1630s during the short-lived Laudian Revival. And four from around 1662. What was going on in 1662? England was celebrating the Restoration of the Monarchy. And, by extension, the restoration of the Church of England to its pre-Interregnum status. New fonts – with secular imagery to avoid a re-run of the problem – were needed. Were there once more? Were there once more seventeenth century fonts in the area? Tricky question to answer. But the evidence from Uppingham suggests a tentative 'yes'. We know Uppingham churchwardens installed a new font soon after the Restoration. And we also know the present font was designed in 1853 by G.R. Street for Cottesbrooke, Northamptonshire. I have yet to establish when the Cottesbrooke font came to Uppingham. Nor do I know what happened to Uppingham's seventeenth century font, still less what it looked like. But if swapping out a seventeenth century font for something more recent can happen at Uppingham it could happen anywhere else too. And plausibly without any record. The Historic England listing states the font at Holwell, to the north-west of Melton Mowbray, is 'probably C17'. But as the church has always been locked whenever I have visited then I've not been able to check. Fonts and Font Covers, Francis Bond (Henry Frowde 1908) p265; online at archive.org/details/fontsandfontcov00chargoog en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuxford Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland