Blewbury / Blebery / Bleobir / Bleoburig / Bletberie / Blitberi

There are two entries for Blewbury [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SU5385/blewbury/] [accessed 26 March 2015], one of which mentions a church and 1.25 hides of church lands in it. A font here is described in 'Church notes...' (1887) in the context of some "notes [that] were taken between 1835 and 1840": "The font is either Decorated or Perpendicular". Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Perpendicular period. The Victoria County History (Berkshire, vol. 3, 1923) notes: "The church of Blewbury was in existence during the reign of Edward the Confessor [1239-1307] [...] The nave dates in part from the early years of the 12th century, while the chancel, which still retains its original stone groined roof, appears to be a rebuilding of about fifty years later. [...] The octagonal font is of 15th-century date and is placed near the west face of the western pier of the south arcade of the nave; the bowl is panelled with quatrefoiled circles on all faces but the east, and has shields on the faces of the taper, except on the west face, which has a fleur de lis." The font consists of an octagonal basin with vertical sides deeply carved with panels containing a quatrefoil with rose insert, all which inscribed in a circle, on seven of the sides; the eighth side is blank and was never carved [probably meant to go against a pillar or wall]; the underbowl chamfer appears to have a shield on some of the sides, but not on the blank side; short stem and splaying lower base, both octagonal and moulded on all sides; on a two-step plinth. Wooden font cover, flying buttress-like open-work construction with cross finial, on a flat octagonal base; appears 19th-century. [NB: we have no information on the font from the 12th-century church here].