Warndon / Warmedon / Warnington / Warnton / Wermedun / Wermedune / Wermindun /

There is an entry for Warndon [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SO8856/warndon/] [accessed 2 October 2014], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Noake (1848) writes: "The original church, which stood on this site, is said to have been raised by some Crusaders on their return from the first holy war", but informs that the present building "was completed in 1732 [...] The font, which was formerly hidden behind the entrance door, had been removed to the centre of the church [...] an heptagonal font, without ornament, and large enough for total immersion." The Ecclesiologist (issue of 1861: 291) and The Gentleman's Magazine (issue of Oct. 1862: 410) note that the font at Warndon is heptagonal. Miller (1890) mewntions only one church here, St. Michael's, as "rebuilt 1842 [...] with a tower of wood [...] a very plain, unpretending building"; he mentions no font in it; the first vicar here is recorded as "Thomas de Pendesham... 1378". A font here is listed in Bond (1908) and Andrews (1912) simply as a baptismal font with a heptagonal basin. The Victoria County Council (Worcester, vol. 3, 1913) notes: "The chapel of Warndon was originally annexed to the church of St. Helen Worcester. After the death of Bishop Wulfstan [NB: probably Wulfstan II, d. in 1095] the monks committed the care of St. Helen's vicarage and all its members, in which the chapel of Warndon in Northwick was included, to Frithericus, priest of St. Helen's, for their use. [...] The first recorded institution is dated 1300, and the chapel had by that time become a church. The parish web site [https://sites.google.com/site/stnicholaschurchwarndon/home] [accessed 3 November 2014] notes: "The 15th century font is of very rare design. It is heptagonal, and the stem is of the same thickness as the bowl, both being treated and moulded as one member. This has given rise to the idea that it may be a scooped out pillar base, possibly of Roman origin. The bowl is lead lined." English Heritage (1969) notes: "font: moulded octagonal bowl of C14" Brooks & Pevsner (2007) date the font to the 15th century, and the cover to the 17th or 18th century. The web site for this Parish [www.warndon-stnicholas-worcester.org.uk] describes it thus: "The 15th century font is of very rare design. It is heptagonal, and the stem is of the same thickness as the bowl, both being treated and moulded as one member. This has given rise to the idea that it may be a scooped out pillar base, possibly of Roman origin. The bowl is lead lined."