Dunton nr. Biggleswade / Daintone / Donton / Dontone / Dounton

Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Perpendicular period. Noted in The Victoria County History (Bedford, vol. 2, 1908): "The first mention that has been found of the church of St. Mary, Dunton, is in 1189, when Richard I confirmed its possession to the priory of Holywell [...] The church of Our Lady is a fine building of fourteenth and fifteenth-century date, with no remains of earlier work. [...] The font, at the west end of the north aisle, is octagonal, with two cinquefoiled panels on each face; it is probably of the latter part of the fourteenth century. [...] The font, at the west end of the north aisle, is octagonal, with two cinquefoiled panels on each face; it is probably of the latter part of the fourteenth century." [NB: the dedication of the church in the VCH appears as "Our Lady"]. The font consists of an octagonal basin, the panels of which are decorated with pairs of deeply-carved blind trefoil arches; lead-lined inner well with central drain; the upper rim of the basin shows damage consistent with the forceful removal of the old cover staples; graded underbowl chamfer; plain octagonal stem; octagonal-to-square moulded lower base; the low-dome pyramidal cover appears of a later date. The basin of the font appears to have been re-tooled or restored.