I visited the nearest church to my work today, St Margaret Lothbury, opposite the north side of the Bank of England.
Some informal drop-in service was taking place, so I picked up a guide and wandered round – a place I thought I knew well.
What a surprise I had – I had never noticed the font before, what a wonderful work of art it is.
Apparently carved in stone by Grinling Gibbons, who I knew as a late 17th / early 18th century legendary wood carver. I had no idea he carved stone as well, and this is fabulous stuff.
Apparently the font belonged to St Olave Jewry, in Ironmonger Lane, which was auctioned off by the Church in the 1880s as part of the Union of Benefices act, under which 22 Wren churches in the City were sold and redeveloped (what a criminal act to us now).
Here are some shots of the font, it has four scenes on it – Adam and Eve (look at her face and the snake), the dove returning to the Ark, the Baptism of Jesus and the Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch (no I hadn’t heard of it either).
I also managed for the first time to get around the back of the church as it is generally locked and found the garden there too, I knew it was there.
All in all, a lovely lunchtime excursion.
