Catmore / Catmard / Catmere / Catmor / Cattermere / Cattmere

There is an entry for Catmore [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SU4580/catmore/] [accessed 6 May 2015], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Cox & Harvey (1907) list a baptismal font of the Norman period in this church. The Victoria County History (Berkshire, vol. 4, 1924) notes: "The building dates from the latter half of the 12th century, but has been much restored. [...] The bowl of the font is of 12th-century date. It is circular, but has been cut down, not being more than half its original height; it is ornamented with carving, but this is now too worn to be clearly distinguished." Noted and illustrated in the CRSBI (2015): "The font is also of oolitic limestone and consists of a cylindrical 12thc. bowl, probably cut down so that only upper part survives. This is set on a modern cylindrical column, on a modern chamfered cylindrical plinth. The 12thc. bowl is carved in a deep band around its rim with an extremely weathered design of beakheads alternating with simple foliage motifs. [...] The decoration of a font with beakhead is most unusual, and the presence of a beakhead on the doorway too implies that both belong to the same campaign, although the font is so badly preserved as to make attribution to the same workshop extremely speculative. Despite the beakhead, the chamfered doorway with billet must surely date from the second half of the century rather than the first, and a date in the range 1150-75 is suggested for both works." The unsuitable octagonal pyramidal cover is 20th-century.