Christian Malford / Christemalforde / Christian Maford / Christmalford / Cristemeleforee

There is an entry for Christian Malford [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/ST9678/christian-malford/] [accessed 24 May 2020] but it mentions neither priest nor church in it. There is an 1808 watercolour of the font here by John Buckler in the Collection Wiltshire Treasures [https://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/ images are shown in the Europeana link below but are impossible ro read [http://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=3&europeana_query=John+Buckler&europeana_cursor=AoQhVHGwvJbw1QIGAAAAAD8aLzIwNDgwODcvUHJvdmlkZWRDSE9fV2lsdHNoaXJlX1RyZWFzdXJlc19EWlNXU18xOTgyXzgyN182&europeana_prev_cursor=AoQhVH2DvZbw1QIGAAAAAD8aLzIwNDgwODcvUHJvdmlkZWRDSE9fV2lsdHNoaXJlX1RyZWFzdXJlc19EWlNXU18xOTgyXzg2Nl8y&dpla_nav_start=3&obcnt=98]]. The font is reported in John Britton's vol. 3 (p. 122) of 'The beauties of Wiltshire: displayed in statistical, historical...' (London, 1825): "An ancient font, surrounded by a series of regular arches". Described and illustrated in Buck (1951): "Among Buckler's drawings (1810) is one of the font which shows it very much much as it looks now, except for the plinth on which it then stood and in 1937 (W.A.M. XLVII) Sir Harold Brakspear expressed his opinion that it 'apparently had been copied, and that not very skilfully, from a Norman predecessor, but whether in the seventeenth century or earlier it is difficult to say'. Local opinion seems to see that it is Norman, but this would involve some traces of cover fastenings which are not there [...] To me, the appearance of the font suggests Gothic Revival". 'Church notes...' (1887) in the context of some "notes [that] were taken between 1835 and 1840", indicates its resemblance with the font at Tockenham, also in Wiltshire, although it points out the inferiority of the latter. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period.

Noted in Pevsner & Cherry (1975) and Pevsner & Cherry (2002): "Font. Circular, Norman. At the bottom short scallops; above, arches. Drastically re-worked." It is now difficult to discern how much of the present ornament was part of the original font. The wooden cover, round and flat, with metal decoration and ring handle, may be old. [NB: the present font does not look Norman, and both Brakspear and Buck have good reason to sound sceptical about the font's pedigree, even of a re-carving]. The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: ST9576179122] notes: "Anglican parish church, C12 origins, c1300, C15 with C18 west tower. Restored 1881 [...] circular c1200 font with scalloped base moulding, arcading with pellets and zig-zag top moulding."