FONT INSCRIPTIONS.
(Vol. vii., p. 408.)
Mr. Ellacombe desires examples of these. I can supply the following:—
At Bradley, Lincolnshire, is a very large font, of the Decorated period, with this inscription round the bowl in black letter:
"Pater Noster, Ave Maria, and Criede, leren ye chyld yt es nede."
This is an early instance of the use of English for inscriptions. The sketch was engraved in the work on Baptismal Fonts.
At Threckingham, Lincolnshire, I believe I succeeded in deciphering an inscription round the font, which was said to have been previously studied in vain. It is somewhat defaced; but in all probability the words are,—
"Ave Maria gracia p... d... t..."
i. e. of course, "plena, dominus tecum." The bowl of the font is Early English; but the base, round which the inscription runs, appears to be of the fifteenth century.