Bodney / Bodeneia / Bredeneia / Budeneia

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "This is a depopulated village, and consists only of a manor-house, a farm-house adjoining, and a poor rectory-house like a cottage, at the east end of the churchyard [...] The church is dedicated to St. Mary, [...] it is a single pile of flint, pebble stones, &c. standing on a rising ground near the hall, in length about 31 feet and 18 in breadth; at the east end is the chancel, of equal elevation and breadth, and about 20 feet in length, and separated only from the body by an arch of stone. On the summit of the west gable is a small stone-arch, wherein hangs the bell, the rope coming through the roof into the church, which bespeaks the antiquity of the church, being built (as is most likely) in the Saxon age, and the whole is covered with thatch. [...] Peter de Romayn, rector about 1260." The present font is listed in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as one in a very large group of baptismal fonts that are plain octagonal with straightsided basins. Noted in Pevsner & Wilson (1999): "Octagonal, C14." Noted and illustrated in Knott (2008). Octagonal basin with plain tapering sides, graded underbowl chamfer; on an octagonal pedestal base with moulded lower base. The polygonal plinth appears modern. [NB: we have no information on the font from the 13th-century church here].