The church of St John Baptist, Lea, Herefordshire has a remarkable font. It is an Italian stoup bought from an antiques dealer in London in 1909 as a memorial. The shallow bowl has fine decorative carving and stands on a slender column that has a capital made of interlocking rams' heads and a single knot half way down. This column stands on the back of a small elephant. It is thought to date from the late C11 and to be influenced by work in Canossa and Bari. I know of no other font in Britain that is remotely like this example in the small medieval parish church at Lea.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: iPhone
