This substantial Norman font at St Mary’s, Dodford, is carved from a single block of limestone and decorated with an unusually rich frieze of beaded lunettes, each containing a stylised foliate motif. The lunettes, semi-circular arches with a prominent bead moulding along the inner rim, form a continuous band around the bowl, giving the font a strongly architectural, arcade-like rhythm.

Within each lunette appears a variation of Romanesque foliage, characterised by broad, incised leaves, voluted tips, and fan-like palmettes. The sculptor has offset each lunette slightly from its neighbours, creating narrow triangular spaces between the arches. These interstices are cleverly filled with further secondary foliage, ensuring the entire upper register of the bowl is covered with a unified vegetal pattern.

The composition is typical of mid-12th-century workshop practice in Northamptonshire, where Romanesque fonts frequently blend architectural idioms (in this case, the lunette arcade) with decorative leaf forms. The beading, deep outlines, and symmetrical leaf arrangements recall regional parallels at Great Brington, Ewerby, and Aston-le-Walls, though the Dodford example is notable for its tight, continuous pattern and the complexity of its interwoven motifs.

The bowl sits on a thick, plain stem and circular base—simple supports that concentrate visual emphasis on the carved upper register. The later conical wooden cover is functional and typical of post-medieval usage.

Overall, the Dodford font is one of the finest Romanesque foliate-carved fonts in Northamptonshire, distinguished by the clarity of its design, the density of its ornament, and the confident hand of its 12th-century sculptor.