Baptismal Font - Burton Dassett, Warwickshire

1430 to 1480
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This font consists of a substantial circular bowl carved from a dense grey stone, its lower edge finished with a clean moulded roll typical of late medieval workmanship. The form is plain but confident, its weight and simplicity characteristic of 15th-century font production in the region, where undecorated round bowls were still widely used.

The upper rim has been altered at a later date: a shallow band of embattling has been cut around the perimeter, giving the appearance of miniature crenellations. This decorative treatment is not medieval but an early post-medieval intervention, applied when older fonts were sometimes “updated” to harmonise with then-current tastes.

A surviving lead plug on the rim marks the original fixing point for a locking staple, confirming that the font once carried a secure medieval cover. Such locking lids were mandated from the later Middle Ages onward to protect the consecrated water from misuse.

The current cylindrical stem and broad octagonal base are modern replacements, constructed in yellow stone that contrasts visibly with the older bowl above. They provide a stable and well-proportioned support but do not form part of the medieval fabric.

Despite its later modifications and renewed lower structure, the bowl remains an authentic late-medieval element and an important survival, illustrating the robust and largely unadorned approach to font design in 15th-century Warwickshire.