Burton upon Trent No. 2 / Bertone / Burton-on-Trent / Burton on Trent / Burton-upon-Trent / Byrtune

There is an entry for Burton [-upon-Trent] [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SK2423/burton-upon-trent/] [accessed 17 July 2019] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it; it does however mention the abbey by name, "Abbatia S[an]c[t]e Marie de Bertone". The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Stafford, vol. 9, 2003) notes: "St. Modwen's Old Church The present church of St. Modwen, a dedication derived from that of the former abbey but commonly used for the parish church only from the mid 19th century, [...] dates from the early 18th century. Its predecessor was that part of the former abbey church which was reserved to the parish when the Crown granted the possessions of the dissolved Burton college to Sir William Paget in 1546. It comprised the aisled nave of seven bays, west tower, west porch, crossing with tower and spire, and transepts [...] In the early 18th century the pulpit and font stood on the south side of the nave [...] contrary to a resolution of a parishioners' meeting, the church was dismantled in 1718 [...] St. Modwen's New Church The present church, begun in 1719, first used for services in 1723, and finally completed by 1728 [...] in the mid 19th century the font was at the west end of the nave [...] In 1894, however, work began on restoring the church, including the removal of the font from the centre aisle to the south-west corner of the nave [...] The present font, one of the few survivals from the medieval church, is a 15th-century bowl standing on a plinth bearing the date 1662 and the initials wm, th, and tw, probably for the minister, William Middleton, and two churchwardens". Illustrated in a sepia drawing of 1839 by John Buckler, now in the William Salt Library. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Perpendicular period, but described elsewhere [not recorded] as a baptismal font dated to 1662. Noted and illustrated in the Burton on Trent Local History Society website [http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/?p=144] [accessed 21 April 2010], with information from a booklet on the history of the church by Robin Trotter: "St. Modwen’s was described in the 1890s as “lonely and practically lamented“, lacking the patronage of the brewers that many of the newer churches in the town had attracted. In 1894, however, work began on restoring the church, including the removal of the font from the centre aisle to the south-west corner of the nave; much of the cost was defrayed by the brewers of the town. The font has survived from the abbey church. It has an octagonal bowl from the fifteenth century – during the Tudor period. It is one of the few survivals from the medieval church. The plinth is newer, dating from 1662, and bears the initials of the vicar, Rev. William Middleton, and church wardens of the day. The basin was later lined with lead and is covered by a nineteenth century wooden cover. [cf. Index entry for Burton upon Trent No. 1 for the earlier and other fonts at St. Peter's]. [NB: all other churches in Burton, with the exception of Stapenhill's, are modern and have modern fonts].