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This Door

Church History

At one time the church walls would have been rich with colour and religious symbols

but in 1643, Thomas Johnson, a member of a local ship-building family and at one time

Master of the “Rainbow”,  co-operated with William Dowsing in “taking down 20 cherubim and 38 pictures”  

the Font, dating from 1320, also suffers

small traces of colour remain

the shields carried by the angels have been defaced

look at the lions - you can see the sword cuts

which hacked off their features

but this side may have been flat against the wall where the sword couldn’t reach

and so the angel is intact - and so is the shield

it carries the signs of Christ’s passion -

cross, nails, crown of thorns, spear, reed, whips

the font has been in at least four positions in the church in the 14th century, at the west end, in 1860 by the third pillar in the North aisle, by 1864 in the chapel of SS

Clement and Catherine, and in 1998, in its present position.

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for Christ will wash away our sin