Castlethorpe / Castle Thorpe

There is no individual entry for Castle Thorpe in the Domesday survey. A font here is noted in Parker (1850) and in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period. Sheahan (1862) notes: "The font is very large, and octagonal, having two sculptured human heads annexed to two of its angles." The Victoria County History (Buckingham, vol. 4, 1927) notes: "Hanslope was originally a chapelry [...] of Castle Thorpe, but by a licence granted by Bishop Grosteste (1235–53) it became the parish church in the place of the old mother church, which was thereupon annexed to it as a chapel. [...] The north arcade, which is of the late 12th century, indicates the addition of a north aisle to an already existing church at that period, but no detail of an earlier date survives. [...] The late 12th-century north arcade of the nave is of two bays with pointed arches [...] The font, which dates from the late 14th century, has a plain octagonal stem and an octagonal bowl with the carved heads of a man and woman on the west side, the latter wearing a nebule head-dress." Described and illustrated in the Parish web site [www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/docs/Church/chtour11-font.html] [accessed 12 April 2009]: "The font, which dates from the 14th century, has a plain octagonal stem and an octaganol bowl with carved heads of a man and a woman on the west side. It is believed that the font once stood in more central position in the nave, then the faces would then have looked out into the church rather than at the wall as they do in the present position." [NB: the two heads appear to be the only ones meant to be on the font; the woman wears rich head gear; are they the donors?]. The wooden cover is plain, octagonal and flat.