Relhan Collection : 136 Norman fonts

Relhan, Richard, 1782-1844

Relhan Collection

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p><b>136a Coton – Norman font</b></p><p>These two lithographs on a single sheet are for H I Hodgson, the name in the margin, but a WD del[ineavit] bottom left is apparently the artist. Neither has been further identified. </p><p>Lithograph by HI Hodgson, 1838 </p><p>Hodgson’s lithograph shows an unmounted font raised on loose stones. It is now mounted on 5 legs, is square with a circular bowl and made of Purbeck marble, with different styles of arcading on 3 sides and zigzags on the 4th. It was moved and much altered in C19. The font was repaired by Cambridge Camden Society 1839 and presumably mounted on legs at the same time, and was moved to its present position in later C19. It is arguably C13, made in the popular Purbeck factories. A similar but not identical etching is published in Lysons 1808.</p><p>Bond 1908; Bradley and Pevsner 2014; RCHME 1968; VCH 1973</p><p><b>136b Cambridge – St Peter’s church, Norman, font</b></p><p>Lithograph by HI Hodgson, 1838</p><p>This large square font with leaded round bowl has deeply-carved mermen holding their forked tales decorating each side. It is thought to be late C12, dating based on the round-lobed trefoil spurs between rim and bowl. One rim has been repaired and one merman has a new head. There is a somewhat similar font at Anstey, Herts, but otherwise such designs are fairly common in France but not elsewhere. The mermen wear shorts and jerkins with waist bands, and their stomachs are bare. It was also drawn by Cole following an original sketch by a Mr Haiswell, who Cole describes as ‘<i>an ingenious young fellow’</i> who climbed through a window into the ruined church in1722. In the 1838 lithograph the font has no pedestal but is standing on the capital of a column or something similar. Lysons 1808 had earlier published a different lithograph of the font showing the bowl only. </p><p>Butler L 2007; Johnson in Hicks 1997; Palmer 1932 </p></p>