Baldock / Baldac / Baldoke / Baudac

No entry for Baldock found in the Domesday survey. Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England (1831) notes "a very curious font" in this church. The font is listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Transitional period [i.e., 1150-1200]. Noted in the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Hertforshire (1911): "Font: octagonal bowl with beaded edges, and circular stem flanked by octagonal shafts with moulded bases, 13th-century." The Victoria County History (Hertfordshire, vol. 3, 1912) notes: "The advowson of the church of St. Mary at Baldock belonged to the Knights Templars, who built the church, and it continued in their possession until their suppression in 1309 […] The east end of the chancel is of the 13th century, but the remainder of the chancel, the north chapel, the nave, north and south aisles, west tower, and probably the lower part of the south porch were built about 1330. […] The font is of the 13th century, and has an octagonal bowl with beaded edges and a circular stem flanked by octagonal shafts with moulded bases." Tompkins (1922) writes: "the octagonal font is of great antiquity (probably not less than 700 years)." In Pevsner & Cherry (1977): "Font: Octagonal, on five shafts; C13." [NB: it is not clear what Lewis' Dictionary meant by "curious", this being a plain and common type of font]