Photograph of the Tournai font in Winchester Cathedral
Taken about 1880
In the middle years of the twelfth century the Bishop of Winchester was the powerful and wealthy Henry de Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror and younger brother of King Stephen. The Cathedral's black marble font, probably dating from the 1150s or '60s, was imported from Tournai and is a notable example of his patronage of the arts, being the finest of the nine or ten similar fonts found in England. The two sides visible here are decorated with roundels containing doves and a salamander. The other two faces depict scenes from the legend of St Nicholas.
Beyond the font is the chantry chapel built around 1400 for William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester 1366-1404, founder of Winchester College and of New College, Oxford.
The photographer's name appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the image.
The photograph was taken by Winchester photographer William Savage (1817-87) and is found in an album entitled 'Winchester Views of Old Buildings'.
