Godstone / Goddestone / Godistone / Vachelestede / Wolcnestede

No individual entry found for Godstone in the Domesday survey. Allen (1831) notes that the church at Godstone was valued in the rating of 1292 (?) and reports an abandoned font: "The old font was laid aside on fitting up the church in the middle of the last century, and is now in the cemetery. It was an hexagon with cinquefoils and a rose in the centre." Two fonts are noted in Brayley (1850): "The font that has been in use for several years is a marble basin with a mahogany lid, on a pedestal, and was presented by the late vicar, the Rev C.E. De Coetlogon. The ancient stone font, however, injudiciously superseded by this, has been repaired, and is intended to displace the present. It is massive, hexagonal in form, (on a square pedestal), with cinquefoils, roses, &c., sunk in the panels." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a hexagonal baptismal font of the Perpendicular period ornamented with cinquefoil motifs. Cox & Harvey (ibid.) inform that this font is mentioned in the 1804 history of Surrey by Manning and Bray as being "now in the cemetery" [i.e., ca. 1804]. The Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 4, 1912) notes: "In the Textus Roffensis [...] there is a copy of the will of a Saxon called Bryhtric and Elfswitha his wife, by which they devise the 'land called Wolcnestede' to Wulfstan Ucca and '10 hides at Straetton to the mynstre of Wolcnestede.' There seems to be no further trace of this endowment. [...] The [present] church has been so much altered and added to at various times that very little of the structure remains in its original state. The nave may date from the 12th century [...] The fittings, with the exception of the 15th-century octagonal font, are all modern." The entry for Gostone St. Nicholas' in the website of the Diocese of Southwark [www.southwark.anglican.org] informs: "The font it also of 15th century date and during the 18th century spent some years abandoned in the churchyard while an elegant but strange pedestal font rather like a bird-bath took its place. However, Gilbert Scott reinstated the old font." The British Listed Buildings database [http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-287724-church-of-st-nicholas-godstone] [accessed 10 August 2010] has: "Octagonal, stone, Perpendicular font with painted quatrefoil panels to sides on arcaded square stem" [another mistake on the shape of tha basin?] [NB: present whereabouts of the later font unknown; we have no information on the earlier medieval font of this church]