1. General Description

One of the smallest villages in Rutland, Whitwell (not to be cofused with Whitwell, Derbyshire or the Isle of Wight) is located on the N shore of Rutland Water. The original 11^th-century church here was most likely an aisleless nave. In the 13^th c. the S aisle, S doorway and chancel were added, as was the bellcote, a common feature on Rutland churches. In the 14^th c. the chancel was altered and a new roof and windows inserted. Church restorations occurred in 1881 and in 1930. The font is from the Romanesque period.

Whitwell is mentioned in DB as part of the land of Countess Judith, the niece of William the Conqueror, and in 1086 there was both a priest and a church in the village. Sometime before 1227 the advowson and the rectory were granted to the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem which held them until 1540.

Based on the architectural history of the church, the font may have been moved to its present position in the 13^th c. when the S aisle arcade was added to the church. The drastic change between geometric designs on the E and S faces of the font versus the organic, free-flowing designs on the W and N faces, as well as the different levels in relief carving, suggest that this font may have been incomplete at the time it left the workshop that created it.

The sculpture is unypical of the period, and it is not apparent why it was cut back.