The font, originally sited at the church
entrance, was moved to below the lectern in the 1970's when alterations
were made inside the church and the parish room was built. It,
with its base and cover, is an
exact replica of the 12th century late Norman font in St Leonard's
Church, Stanton Fitzwarren.
The font is divided into ten compartments,
each with a Latin inscription. The first, 'Eclesia' stands for the
church - and the carving is of the crowned Divine Bride, holding the
sacred chalice and killing evil (depicted as a serpent) with the stem of
the cross.
The second compartment, inscribed 'Cherubim'
shows a six winged cherubim, with its eyes covered to show its spiritual
nature. The Cherubim holds a sword to show it is guardian of the
Church.
The other eight compartments show eight crowned knights holding
shields and weapons. These represent the goodly Christian Virtues and
they are depicted dwarfing figures, which represent the evil vices
fighting in the baptised soul. Details of these remaining compartments
are:
The wooden font cover is also worthy of note, and is also a replica
of that at Stanton Fitzwarren.
It is divided into four and richly carved with a lion, human, eagle and
an ox - symbolic representations of the gospel writers. The cover was
donated by Miss Bell of South Marston, in memory of Rev J Mould, a vicar
of Rodbourne Cheney.
