Discover the upside down font of Lydeard St Lawrence and the story of John Venn, written as part of the Quantock Landscape Partnership Project.
John Venn, Lydeard St Lawrence
Why is the font in Lydeard St Lawrence Church balanced on an earlier one placed upside down? It was because a man called John Venn was christened here on 8th April 1586. His family had long been residents in Lydeard St Lawrence, John atte Fenne appears in the assize roll of 1395 as a landowner at nearby Bishop’s Lydeard (Annuls of a clerical family, Cambridge University press, 2012). The Venn family are recorded as Squire of Pyeigh, a nearby hamlet (History of Church at St Lawrence the Martyr, p7).
John Venn became an apprentice to a Merchant Taylors company and became a wool and silk merchant throughout the Southwest. He was also a founder of the Massachusetts Company in the New colonies of America and a leader of the puritan militant in England. He was one of those involved in petitioning King Charles I demanding religious reform, the transfer of control of the army to Parliament and legislation for the regular sitting of parliament. On 2nd Dec 1641 he was accused of inciting the people living around the house of Commons to go armed to the houses of Parliament. He along with five others were charged with treason and King Charles 1 declared that he should never be pardoned.
During the first civil war Venn became Governor of Windsor Castle and remained there until June 1645 (Annuls of a Clerical family, 2012). He was said to be a harsh and fanatical Governor and plundered the chapel of St George, destroying the furniture and refusing to allow any religious service to be held over the body of one of his prisoners (Tigue and Davis, Annuls of Windsor, 1858 ). The Dean in charge of the chapel was Christopher Wren, father of the architect who rebuilt a lot of London after the great fire of London. He managed to save three registers of the Order of the Garter (College of St George, Windsor Castle, 12th July 2009, website archives). Venn was paid £4000 for his expenses at Windsor, said to be from the estates of “papists and delinquents”.
At the trial of Charles I, Venn was a nominated commissioner, and his name and seal are attached to the death warrant. He was the 53rd of 59 signatories.
Venn died in his bed on 28th June in 1650. Whilst a royalist report suggested that it was suicide, that may not have been true. The Act of Oblivion stated that all living regicides should be hunted down and those who had died would have their civil and political right stripped away for the crime of high treason, their property and estates forfeited to the crown.
So, the font at Lydeard St Lawrence is said to be turned upside down because the parishioners did not want their children baptised in the font that had baptised a regicide. John Venn is buried in Lydyard St Lawrence church. John’s son was a Royalist and went on to be a Mayor of Bridgwater.
Information taken from DD/SAS/C795/PR/146/1, Annuls Of a Clerical family (Cambridge University Press), pamphlet History of the Church of St Lawrence the Martyr, Annuls of Windsor, Dictionary of National Biography, British Civil War project.
