Semley

No entry found for Semley in the Domesday survey. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period. Noted in Pevsner & Cherry (1975): "Font. Circular, with mouldings of [sic] the lower rim." The Victoria County History (Wiltshire, vol. 13, 1987) notes: "There was a rector of Semley and presumably a church there c. 1191 [...] The church of St. Leonard was so called in 1763. [...] The chancel was probably of the 13th century [...] In 1874–5 the church was demolished, except for the chancel, which was incorporated in a new building designed by Wyatt [...] Registers of [...] baptisms from 1709." There is no mention of a font in the VCH entry for this parish. The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: ST8922226877] notes: "Anglican parish church. 1866-76 rebuilding by T.H. Wyatt, on site of Medieval church […] C12 stone cylindrical font at west end". Listed and illustrated in the CRSBI [https://www.crsbi.ac.uk/view-item?i=4498] [accessed 11 April 2023]: "The font bowl and part of the stem date from the 12thc. and were presumably reused from the earlier church on the site. The bowl has a chamfered rim and is decorated with a 0.04m wide incised roll around the lower part of the bowl. Below this is a chamfer followed by a 0.03m wide roll where the bowl joins the shaft. Vertical tooling marks are clearly visible over most of the outer surface. The bowl is damaged; a section of the rim is lost." The baptismal font is roughly cylindrical with slightly tapering sides that are chamfered at both ends, the lower basin side decorated with two parallel incised lines; the basin side is badly damaged, the sort of damage that is consistent with the forceful removal of the iron staples of the old cover; the underbowl is chamfered and there is a cylindrical extension for the top of the base [it is all a single block of stone]; the rest is modern, as is the flat wooden font cover with an acorn finial.