Tournai font

[1] There are seven complete examples in England[2] and a disputed number in Europe: eighty according to one source,[3] or fifty in Northern France and Belgium and two in Germany according to another.

This seam of limestone runs from around Boulogne through the Scheldt and Meuse regions at Tournai and Namur to Aachen, and has been quarried and sculpted since Roman times.

[1] As a stone, Tournai marble was prized for its high polish, which made it appear black, and it was popular not only for fonts but also for elements of ecclesiastical architecture (capitals, bases and colonnettes), as well as for tombslabs.

[1] The font at Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, Dendermonde (Belgium) illustrates the story of Saint Peter's denial of Jesus.

[9] Complete fonts are at Châlons-sur-Marne (cathedral) and Gondecourt, a base at Pervijse, and fragments at Ghent (St Bavon), Kontich, and Rotselaer.

[6] On account of their weight and the difficulty of land transport, their ultimate destinations were locations on the south or east coast, or places accessible by river.

[2] The Charité-St-Christophe had commercial links with Winchester, and probably brought the four Hampshire fonts to the county,[4] most likely under the patronage of Henry of Blois.

The top of the font is circled with reeds; the corners display two birds drinking and leaves, forming an "oriental motif".

St Lawrence's, Thornton Curtis, and Lincoln Cathedral, where the font is located on the south side of the nave.