St Mary’s Church in Hitchin is blessed with a beautiful font cover (Pictured above) Font covers were originally used from 1236 onwards (Ordered by Edmund, Archbisop of Canterbury) as a protection from Sorcery. (“Fontes baptismales sub sera clausi teneantur propter sortilegia”) Some have plain ‘lids’ over the stone fonts or like this one above, very ornate and raised by a cable and pulley system and sometimes counter weights. A lot are kept in this raised position and others actually lowered over the font and only raised for Baptisms. Some font covers did survive the Cromwellian destruction. These iconoclasts were opposed to any ornamentation, decoration or statues. Other font covers are Victorian copies of earlier originals. Whether it is an original or a copy, it is a welcome addition to the church ‘experience’.