Font - Guilsborough, Northamptonshire

1823

This unusual terracotta font at St Faith’s , Guilsborough, was made in 1823 and is an early example of Gothic Revival ecclesiastical furnishing. The octagonal bowl is decorated on each face with a recessed panel containing floral motifs, including stylised roses and leaf sprays, framed within moulded borders.

The underside of the bowl has stepped mouldings and a band of small scalloped ornament, leading to a tall octagonal stem articulated with Gothic arched openings and slender engaged shafts. The base continues the octagonal profile in a series of plain, chamfered stages.

Terracotta fonts are rare in Northamptonshire, and the Guilsborough example reflects early 19th-century interest in medieval forms combined with industrial ceramic production methods. The design draws loosely on Perpendicular Gothic vocabulary, though interpreted through the crisp, modular language of early 19th-century manufacture.