St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Gosberton.
How old is the font?
The octagonal font dates back to the 15th century – at least, it follows a style of font fashionable at that time.
The domed wooden font cover, however, is modern. In 1876, a Mr. Noble gave to the church an “elegantly carved font-cover.” (Lincolnshire Free Press 8 February 1876). The cover we see today is either that one, or a later replacement. The “Mr. Noble” in question is probably John Wilson Noble, a coach builder (so therefore suitably skilled to have created the beautifully crafted cover) who lived and worked at the corner of what is now Quadring Road and Churchfleet Lane. In fact, Churchfleet Lane was known by subsequent generations of Gosbertonians as ‘Noble’s Lane.” Mr. Noble’s daughter Nina Florence became organist at the church, a position she held for 44 years until her death in 1943.
Why does it have a wooden cover?
A medieval church law required fonts to be kept lidded and locked to prevent the theft of the holy water, highly valued for cures and for witchcraft. The lids were required to be secured by a padlocked metal bar across the top. In more modern times the continued use of a lid, such as the one we see here today, was merely to maintain the tradition and became simply a decorative feature.
Why is the font at the rear of the church?
The font now stands at the western end of the south aisle, but this wasn’t always so. It had originally stood in the nave, near the west doorway, but was moved to its present location during the church restoration work of the 1860s. When the nave was re-floored in the 1890s, one of the original octagonal steps upon which the font had sat near the west door was revealed. Fonts were traditionally positioned near the entrance to the church in medieval times, thus welcoming a child into the House of God.
