From 14th February 2022 a project will take place to improve access and safety around the Cathedral’s Font.
The Font, installed in the Cathedral’s Baptistry in 1983, is currently raised by a single-step platform. The project will see this levelled, removing a trip-hazard and improving access to the Font during baptisms. Where possible, existing paving will be sympathetically reused.
The Font was designed by John Skelton, and was the first major artistic commission by Dean Robert Holtby (Dean from 1977 - 1989) during the tenure of Robert Potter as the Surveyor of the Fabric (Surveyor from 1955 - 1984). John Skelton’s daughter, Helen Mary, has provided the Cathedral with invaluable advice on her father’s methods of fixing, as well as access to records and to craftsmen who worked on the original installation.
Describing the Font, Surveyor to the Cathedral’s Fabric, Antony Feltham-King of St Ann’s Gate Architects Ltd. said:
“The Font is designed as a slightly amorphous shape, with one larger stone element containing the bowl, set upon another smaller stone support. The stones are ‘Polyphant’ from Cornwall, a material which can be easily-carved and which maintains its appearance when polished. The artist took advantage of the stone’s characteristics to create a unique object, with a sturdy yet approachable and tactile design. The stone is polished to a smooth finish, revealing the material’s depth of colour (a deep green with brown inclusions), and this contrasts with the copper inlay which lines the bowl.”
From 14th February 2021, for a five week-period, an alternative accessible entrance will be available through the Eastern Arm of the Cathedral Cloisters into the East end of the Cathedral.
Photomontage: The Cathedral’s Baptistry shown with platform removed and placed on paved surround, set flush with existing stone pavement