Because the travelling font is a relic of significance and of particular importance to our Church, the font is not kept on the premises.  Therefore, we decided that the next best thing would be to hang this framed photograph of the font as we believe people will be interested to see what it looks like.

The travelling font is believed to date from the 17th century and was mentioned in Pevsner’s Guide for Worcestershire as being an unusual piece.  It is carved from stone.

This item was brought from the old Church of St. James and was so named because at eight and a half inches high (21cms) it was small enough to be easily transported to people’s houses for Baptisms at home.  This would have been for babies who were not expected to live very long, or were too weak to be taken to the church, or possibly someone in the household might have had a contagious illness so the family could not attend the church.

The travelling font was last used in 2008 at a commemorative event, to baptise James and Christopher Black at a Rogation Service conducted by the Reverend Ray Martin in the open air at Lawn Farm, Drake Street.  Prior to that it had not been used within living memory.