Baptism Font, St Helen's - Plungar, Leicestershire
Posted by: 
SMacB
N 52° 53.902 W 000° 51.470
30U E 644089 N 5863113
Baptism font inside a small ironstone church with a grand churchyard.
Waymark Code: WMHG8N
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/08/2013
Views: 1
"An Anglo-Saxon church stood nearby in what is now the garden of Manor House Farm and a holy well was situated near the steps which still lead down to the lawn. The present church site has been used from around 1240 and some old stonework remains, but the unbuttressed tower dates from 1846 and other restoration work took place from 1855. To quote the church guide, St. Helen's is `rich in animal symbolism'; there are medieval animal heads on the choir stalls supplemented by additional Victorian ones. The most unusual figures, however, are 15th century and on the outside west wall of the tower. They illustrate `The Tale of Reynard the Fox', popular in medieval times and widely believed to have originated in France. The church guide itself is informative and (this is unusual) written with a definite sense of humour. Funny now, though perhaps not when it happened, is the tale of the eccentric village grocer, also a churchwarden, who in the early 1700s tore out pages of the parish registers to wrap up tea and snuff."
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