West Chelborough / Celberge / W. Celberge / West Celberge

There are two entries for [East and West] Chelborough [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/XX0000/east-and-west-chelborough/] [accessed 21 February 2015], but neither mentions cleric or church in it. A font in this church is described and illustrated by Paley (1844), who dates it to the latter half of the 12th century: tub font of small dimensions [only 75 cm tall and less than 60 cm wide at the top]. Noted, with an engraving, in the 3rd ed. of Hutchins (1973 c1961-1874): The font is a very beautiful example of the 12th century." The basin sides has parallel bands of, from the top: palm leaves, rope motif, saltire pattern, saw-tooth, and a lower one with mixed motifs hardly distinguishable in the source. The upper rim was broken when the staples of the old cover were removed. "It is probably made of Ham Hill stone, but until cleared of the numerous coats of whitewash, cannot be known with certainty." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a "handsomely ornamented late Norman circular font". Noted in Long (1923), Mee (1939) and Newman & Pevsner (1972) as Norman. The Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset (West, vol. 1, 1951) notes: "The font and the Kymer monument are noteworthy [...] Font [...] tapering cylindrical bowl with five bands of ornament, conventional leaves, cable, diaper, zig-zag and small dog-tooth, late 12th-century." The font is now [ca. 2002] covered with a crude modern lid made of wood and topped with a cross finial.