Font Found at Gavinburn
Font in use as planter.
A large stone font has been identified next to the entrance to Gavinburn Library in Old Kilpatrick, West Dunbartonshire. The font had been re-used as a planter, and although it had occupied this position for a number of years, its significance had not previously been recognised.
Vertical view of font following removal of flowers.
Measuring c. 50cm by c.55cm by c. 40cm high, the font had been shaped by random pecking. The tooling marks had been eroded by wear around the mainly smooth lip. The underside of the font was less even, suggesting that it had originally been mounted on a base. A drain which pierces the base of the bowl has been formed by pecking rather than drilling. The stone is likely to represent a baptismal font, and may well date from the Early Christian period. The parish church in Old Kilpatrick is the most obvious (but not the only) source for the font, it possibly being removed from the church at the Reformation for safe keeping and subsequently lost to history.
Font after removal of flowers, drain-hole visible.
Gavinburn Library is scheduled for closure, and the font will be moved to the museum store of West Dunbartonshire Council Culture and Leisure Services on Poplar Road, Dumbarton.