Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Font
Herbertstown, County Kildare, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Herbertstown
- County
- Kildare
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.17133, -6.72839
- SMR number
- KD023-018004-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
A large bowl shaped stone (ext. diam. 0.64m; rim T 0.1m; H 0.36m) with circular basin (top diam. 0.44m; base diam. 0.17m; D 0.21m) and no drainage hole may represent the remains of an early medieval font. It is too large to represent the remains of a medieval water stoup and not the right shape for a bullaun stone. It is possible that this plain unperforated bowl shaped stone was used as a medieval mortar rather than as a baptismal font and may have belonged to the adjoining Herbertstown Castle (KD023-018003-) or was used for domestic purposes of the residential priest living inside Herbertstown Church. Such a function has been suggested for several large undecorated bowls which lacked a central drainage hole and were initially identified as fonts (Roe 1968, 12). The stone was removed from Herbertstown Church (KD023-018----) some time before 1990 by local parishioners and placed in the graveyard of St. Peter’s R. C. Church, Two-Mile-House (Gibson 1990, 60). Cross-referenced with KD024-067---.
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by William Gibson
Date of upload: 23 April 2019
References
Roe, H.M. 1968 Medieval fonts of Meath. Meath Archaeological and Historical Society.
Nearby in the register
- Fontunder 1 mi
- Churchunder 1 mi
- Graveyardunder 1 mi
- Castle - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.