Celtic Baptismal Font - St Augustine,s Church - Locking. Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, UK. - Stone Church Artefacts on Waymarking.com

St Augustine's Church Locking - Although there is a list of Vicars from 1370 the Font appears to be of Celtic origin, dating from the 11th Century.

Celtic Font
"Undoubtedly the most fascinating part of the church is the font. The carving and inter-twined serpents in the panels are characteristic of Celtic art, placing it in the 11th century. However, the figures at the corners are dressed in armour of the style of Richard I (1189 - 1199). A few years ago, it was suggested that their costume is characteristic of Henry V (1413 - 1422) because of the head-dresses of the figures are those which were worn at that time. These head-dresses were cut off during alterations in the last century, when the rim of the font was reduced in height to make it level. But it is possible that the changes were made on the figures to keep costumes up to date with the styles of the time, and the Church built in 1380 might have replaced an earlier Church built in either the 11th or late 12th Century. The font stands beneath the tower, but this was not its original place. The south side lacks ornamentation, and therefore this would have been facing a wall. Also it originally stood on one pillar, part of which was found in the Churchyard recently. The four corner pillars were added in the 19th century to ease the weight on the corners.

The first written mention of the church comes in 1217 in a charter concerning gifts by a wealthy resident of 'Lokyng' to canons of nearby Woodspring Priory. an Augustinian priory founded to commemorate Thomas à Becket. The Prior and Convent of Woodspring were patrons of the church until the priory's dissolution in 1536 during the Reformation in the reign of King Henry VIII.

Of the Norman church fabric the font is the sole remaining part. The font has carvings characteristic of Celtic art from the 11th century, and the figures at the corners are dressed in armour of the style of Richard I (1189–1199).The oldest part of the church visible today is the tower, which was built in 1380." Text source: (visit link)

Approximate Age of Artefact: 11th Century. Relevant Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Please supply an original picture when visiting this waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   08/25/2014 veritas vita visited it