The Baptistry
The baptistry was designed by Edward Pugin and, several years after his death, completed by Peter Paul Pugin, his half-brother.
The font was dedicated to the honour of the English Martyrs. The floor surrounding it was of black marble. The font was moved to the front of the church between the sanctuary and St. Joseph’s altar in the 1960s.
The floor of encaustic was made by The Campbell Tile Co. of Stoke on Trent and Great Portland Street, London, to the design of Edward Pugin and lain in 1888.
The gates, chocolate coloured and partly gilded, were made by Hardman, Powell, and Co. of Birmingham. The inscription in gilded, gothic letters reads: ‘Amplius lava me ab inquitate’: ‘Wash me more and more in my iniquity’.
The stained glass window depicts the Descent of the Holy Spirit onto Christ at his baptism in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist.
The Font
The font was erected in honour of the English Martyrs in 1888 in the Baptistry at the back of the church. It was the work of J. Currie of Oxford St. London to the design of Edward Pugin.
The octagonal font is made of Derbyshire alabaster supported by thick columns of the rouge royale and Irish green marble with a base of brown Belgian marble.
Between the alabaster columns are four carvings of symbols of the Eucharist.
The timber cover is fitted with iron scrollwork.