the church, always the most
important and interesting building in the place. We will suppose that
it has not suffered overmuch at the hands of the "restorers" of the
nineteenth, or the Puritans of the seventeenth, or the spoliators of
an earlier century, so that we may observe all those details which
characterise an ancient church. In spite of all the vandalism which has
taken place, in spite of the changes in ceremonial and forms of worship,
our beautiful old churches still retain relics of the past which time
has spared.

We will enter the church and notice first the porch, often a large
structure with a chamber above. Why was it made so large? According to
the Sarum use several services took place in the porch. Parts of the
baptismal service and of the marriage service and the churching of women
were there performed; hence the porch was an important building, and
it was necessary to make it rather large. Above the door there is
frequently a niche for the image of the patron saint of the church,
which has not usually escaped the destructive hand of the Puritan. The
room over the porch was frequently inhabited by a recluse, as I have
already recorded in the previous chapter. Near the door always stands
the font, signifying that baptism is the entrance to the Church of
Christ. Ancient fonts are large enough to allow the infant to be totally
immersed, and are made of stone or lead. Childrey Church, in our county
of Berks, has a fine cylindrical, leaden font, of Norman date, carved
with figures of bishops. Norman fonts are frequently carved, the
favourite subjects being the Baptism of our Lord, the Twelve Apostles,
and the evangelistic symbols. Early English and Decorated fonts are not
usually carved, but in the Perpendicular style they are rich with
ornamentation, the Seven Sacraments being a not uncommon design. We have
sometimes noticed the symbols of Freemasonry carved on fonts, as at
Bray, in Berkshire. To the same period belong the splendid spire-shaped
font-covers, of immense weight, of which I am sometimes a little
fearful, lest the mechanism by which they are raised should become
damaged, and terrible disaster follow during the progress of a baptismal
service. At Sonning, Berks, there is a small stone desk attached to a
pillar for the service-book to rest on.

The nave of the church is now filled with seats for the use of the
congregation. In early times they do not seem to have been considered
necessary, and u