This baptism font was made in 1983 by John Skelton, a renowned sculptor and letter carver who spent 50 years working in Sussex. Skelton worked with a wide range of materials and developed innovative forms of lettering.
In this piece, the beaten copper used for the bowl was chosen to reflect and harmonise with a painting that hangs on the west wall - 'The Baptism of Christ' by Hans Feibusch.
The main body of the Font is greenstone, a relatively soft stone which is an excellent medium for carving and gives a lustrous polish. It comes from the Polyphant quarry in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, which has been providing stone since Norman times. The letters you can see around the edge of the bowl are part of the text that Skelton hand-carved into the stone. It reads “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism”, which comes from Ephesians 4:5.
Other examples of Skelton’s distinctive lettering style can be seen at Cannock Chase Military Cemetery (where he was commissioned to create several large memorial panels), and at the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Find out more about letter carving here.
