Warboys / Warbois / Wardeboys / Wardebusc / Wardebusche

Knight (1867) reports: "in the church is a handsome font of the [Early English] period." Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Early English period. The Victoria County History (Huntingdon, vol. 2, 1932) notes: "A church and a priest at Warboys were recorded in 1086, and the church was confirmed to Ramsey Abbey with the manor by Popes Alexander and Gregory. [...] Nothing remains of the church which existed here at the time of the Domesday Survey (1086). The earliest church of which there is now evidence was built in the middle of the 12th century, probably when the church and its possessions were granted by Abbot Walter to the almonry of Ramsey Abbey about 1155. [...] The font is an interesting specimen of early 13th-century date; it has a square bowl carved with rather crude foliage, standing on a large central and four angle shafts having moulded capitals and bases— the capitals of the angle shafts being carved on the corners of the bowl." Noted in Pevsner (1968): "The font was obtained at the time when the enlargement by aisles took place. It is of table-top form and has stiff-leaf of the mature kind to the N. All the other sides are re-cut out of recognition." The FOWLS (Friends of Warboys Library) site notes: "The font is of the early 13th century, the square bowl is carved with crude foliage standing on one large and four smaller shafts mounted on the base. The wooden cover also has an interesting background: It was made during the restoration work of 1926 from old beams salvaged during the restoration work. The font was moved from the west end of the nave in July 2007 to it’s new position in the east end of the north aisle."