Bradford Abbas / Bradefor

There is an entry for Bradford [Abbas] [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/ST5814/bradford-abbas/] [accessed 14 October 2018] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Paley (1844) has: "Rich example of Perpendicular work, and in form very unusual [...] It is octagonal [...] panelled with quatrefoils [...] supported by a central shaft panelled, and by a square buttress at each corner [...] panelled in the lower part, and in the upper, three have the figure of a Bishop, and in the fourth is the Lamb upon a book, under canopies with pinnacles." It could alternatively be described as being square with the type of support structure found in the Norman fonts of the Bodmin type, but adapted to the demands of the Perpendicular period. Noted in the 3rd ed. of Hutchins (1973 c1861-1874): "The font, of Ham Hill stone, is a rich example of Perpendicular work, and in a form very unusual, although another similar in design occurs at Winterborne Whitchurch. It is octagonal, and round the bowl, which is panelled with quatrefoils, runs a richly sculptured wreath of foliage under the cornice; it is supported by a central shaft panelled, and by a square buttress at each corner. The buttresses are also panelled on the lower part and on the upper; three have the figure of a bishop; and in the fourth is the Lamb upon a book, under canopies with pinnacles." Bond (1908) points out that, though similar to Queen's Camel and Winterborne-Whitechurch fonts, the bowl rests on a central stem but has four non-constructional legs charmingly hollowed into niches at the corners. Paley (ibid.) states that it "appears to be about the time Henry the Seventh [i.e., 1485- ]". Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font "of unique design" from the late Perpendicular period. Long (1923) describes it as one of the best two Perpendicular fonts in Dorset [the other one, quite similar in design, is at Winterborne Whitchurch]. Mee (1939) suggests that the figures may be those of "Aldhelm, first Bishop of Sherborne, Bishop Osmund of the 11th century, Richard Beauchamp, and John the Baptist with a lamb." The Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset (vol. 1, West, 1952: 30-34, pl. 85) notes: "The Chancel may date from the 12th century, but the thickness of the walls and the absence of buttresses is the only evidence of this [...] The church is of considerable architectural interest and among the fittings the seating, font, pulpit and churchyard-cross are noteworthy. [...] Font (Plate 85): octagonal bowl with moulded cornice carved with running foliage and band of quatrefoils enclosing paterae or shields below, panelled concave underside and stem with trefoil-headed panel in each face; diagonal angles of bowl brought forward and supported on free-standing piers with trefoil-headed panels below and trefoil-headed niches containing figures of St. John the Baptist and three bishops or abbots, moulded base, 15th-century." In Newman & Pevsner (1972): "Font. Octagonal, with four square pillars in front of the diagonals. Statuettes against the pillars; quatrefoils against the bowl. Perp[endicular] of course, but very re-tooled (cf. Winterborne Whitechurch)."