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Category: Darnton Information

Darnton Rebus

John Darnton, 30th Abbot of Fountains Abbey, was responsible for much work including the West Window. Over that window is a stone corbel carved as a rebus (a representation of a name by pictures or figures) for John Darnton. This Darnton Rebus is now very badly corroded, probably through pollution, but it was distinct early this century. The principal features of the rebus related to the name, is the the bird is a 'Dern' and the barrel a 'ton'. Thus, the symbol of bird and barrel work reasonably well as a rebus for 'Darn-ton'.

Here is an image of the west window to show the location of the rebus, although it is very difficult to see it on this picture at the apex of the window.

Fountains Abbey West Window © 2002 Geoffrey Darnton

Here is a close-up of the Rebus:

Darnton Rebus above Fountains Abbey West Window © 2002 Geoffrey Darnton

Darnton Index Logo

Now, the inspiration for the Darnton Index logo shown on this website should be clear. The tree in an inverted family tree. The letter 'o' is represented by a modern stylized Darnton Rebus.