Day 30. The Font

The baptismal font of Preston church probably dates to the 18^th century, and has seen the baptisms of two thousand or so of Preston's residents, most of them babies.

An unusual entry in the baptism register states that:

Jacob Taplin, an elderly person, was baptised on February 26^th 1809.
Jacob had married in Preston church in 1762 and his many children were baptised there, so his lack of baptism wasn't known to the church authorities. Perhaps he didn't know himself. Somehow his secret was discovered, and with eternal torment weighing on his mind – according to Christian doctrine, only those who have been baptised can enter heaven – he put matters straight. He received his Christian burial less than two years later.

Babies were baptised within a week or so of birth, even when they appeared healthy and strong. Childhood infectious diseases claimed the lives of up to one in five children before their fifth birthday. A sickly baby would be baptised immediately after birth, often by the midwife who was licensed to perform emergency baptisms.

A forename or 'Christian' name was only given at baptism; those who died unbaptised were named simply as 'infant' in burial registers and other documentation. Charlotte Bailey, whose sad story was told yesterday, had been baptised the day after her birth, which meant she could receive a Christian burial and gain a place in heaven. 

Unbaptised babies were buried outside consecrated ground and were condemned to an eternity in limbo, although sometimes the tiny body would be hidden inside an adult's coffin to receive a Christian burial.

Reverend J. Harvey Bloom was rector of Whitchurch in the early 20^th century. His daughter Ursula, author of his biography Parson Extraordinary, wrote how Harvey once received an urgent summons. A baby, newly born across the valley, was not expected to live and needed baptising at once.

The Stour was in spate and the roads were submerged in torrential flood waters. Harvey requisitioned a carter to drive him through. The man reached the edge of the water and would go no further. It was simply too dangerous.

Harvey was furious. No danger was too great when an innocent's soul was at stake. He seized the reins and forced the cart through the waters himself.

The baby lived.