Kingsclere / Cleare / Clera / Clere / Klere / Kyngescler

There are five entries for Kingsclere [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SU5258/kingsclere/] [accessed 21 August 2018], one of which, in the lordship of Queen Edith in 1066, reports a church in it. Porter (1896) reports that, in Frobury, about a mile from Kingsclere. in a mansion formerly (1644) belonging to Mr. Towers, and since partly a farm-house, "the base of the font yet does duty as a horse-block in the farmyard". Porter (ibid.) further notes: "The base of the font in question has been removed since the paper from which the quotation is made was published. Mr. Porter obtained possession of the mutilated and desecrated stone with a view to having it placed in Kingsclere church. This, after ' a restoration' of the missing part of the font shall have been supplied—subject to the approval of the Bishop of Winchester, who has seen the fragment— will be done." [NB: it is not clear whether or not this was the original base of the font at Kingsclere Church; Porter had noted the existence of an "ancient domestic chapel" at the former Towers mansion, but it is not likely that such a chapel would be furnished with a baptismal font]. Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Early English period, ca. 1200, made of Purbeck marble. The Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 4, 1911) gives a date ca. 1130-1140 for the first church building here, much re-built through the centuries; of the font it notes: "The font, which is placed near the west end of the nave on the south side, has a shallow square 12th-century Purbeck marble bowl with a hollow scalloped capital at each corner. The shafts and bases to these and the large stem in the centre are modern. The east face of the bowl has a row of large pointed leaves, the south face has a series of hollow flutes, on the west side are three roses and on the north face is a four-leaf flower between two disks. There is a pretty 17th-century cover." Noted in Holmes (1922) as being "of special interest". Described in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as a good specimen from a group of fonts "characteristic of the Norman period in architecture", "consisting of a rectangular bowl upon a large central shaft, with four slender supporting shafts at the angles"; zig-zag motif ornamentation on the sides. The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SU5250258582] notes: "The table-top Purbeck font is C12 (with a modern base)". Noted and illustrated in SouthernLife [http://www.southernlife.org.uk/kingsclere_church.htm] [accessed 28 October 2009]: "The font is 12th century of Purbeck marble ornamented with rosettes, blank arches, arrows and roundels, and a 4-petalled flower, The elegant wooden cover dates from the 17th century from the time when Archbishop Laud required the covering of all fonts. The base is modern." Noted in Leach (1975) as a font made of Purbeck marble: "bowl with original decoration on two faces panelled out and replaced in the 15th century and chevron patterns and whorls flanking a formalised leaf on the remaining faces; central stem horizontally fluted" [source given: Professor E.M. Jope].