Taynton nr. Burford / Tainton / Teistone

There is an entry for this Taynton [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SP2313/taynton/] [accessed 10 December 2018] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. A font here is illustrated in Frederick Mackenzie's copper engraving for Skelton's 1823 book 'Antiquities of Oxfordshire'. Noted in Tymms (1834): "octagonal, with rich tracery". Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 reports "an ancient font highly enriched" in this church. The Ecclesiastical and Architectural Topography of England: Oxfordshire (1850) notes: "Font large octagonal early P[erpendicular], with panelling and curious sculpture." Gardner's Gazetteer (1852) reports "In the chancel is a handsome font", but gives the dedication of the church as St. Thomas. Noted in Kelly's Directory (1891): "The font is supported by quaintly carved figures attached to a panelled shaft and the upper portion is divided octagonally by kneeling figures, each division containing a grotesque bird or animal". A letter from M.L. Stevenson in 'Notes and queries relating to Berks, Bucks and Oxon', in The Berks, Bucks Oxon Archaeological Journal (vol. 20, no. 2, July 1914: 122-123) reads: "I note that in the Antiquary's Book on fonts, that the font of the pretty little church of St. John the Evangelist, Taynton, is described as Perpendicular. It is, however, a 19th century copy of an ancient predecessor. One of the Messrs. Pittaway, Quarrymen and Stone-carvers, of Taynton, told my parents that they had made the new font, copying the old one as nearly as they could. As my father went to reside in the village in 1846, and the font was then evidently new work, it was probably executed about 1840. [...] I never heard what became of the old font, probably it was broken up." Illustrated in Daubeny (1921) as an octagonal baptismal font of the Perpendicular period. Noted in Sherwood and Pevsner (1974): "Font. Octagonal; early C15. An unusual design, with traceried panels containing symbols of the Evangelists divided by kneeling angels. Below them a band decorated with rosettes and quatrefoils." The basin is divided into two levels, the lower one indented; the upper level sides are decorated with atlante- or orant-like kneeling figures at the corners, though they may represent monks; the deeply indented panels are decorated with two trefoil arches between which is an animal; at least two of these animals appear to hold scrolls and may be meant to be symbols of the Evangelists, although one other has a rather suspicious resemblance to be a wild-crested parrot (!); the second register of the basin is decorated with a variety of motifs: tracery, rosettes, etc., and what appears to be an inscription; graded chamfer on the underbowl, with odd-looking figures at the angles instead of the more usual cherubs or angels; octagonal pedestal base with a blind arcade of trefoil arches on the panels, three arches per side. The font cover is octagonal and flat, with metal decoration and ring handle; appears modern. A communication from a M.L. Stevenson in the 'Notes and Queries Relating to Berks, Bucks and Oxon' (issue of April 1914: 122-123) reads: "I note that in the Antiquary's Book on fonts, that the font of the pretty little church of St. John the Evangelist, Taynton, is ribed as Perpendicular. It is, however, a rgth century copy of an ancient predecessor. One of the Messrs. Pittaway, Quarrymen and Stone-carvers, of Taynton, told my parents that they had made the new font, copying the old one as nearly as they could. As my father went to reside in the village in 1846, and the font was then evidently new work, it was probably executed about 1840. [...] I never heard what became of the old font, probably it was broken up." [NB: if this information is correct, we have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the 15th-century original font]. The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SP2341213544] notes: "Church. c.1360 nave and north aisle; south aisle c.1500; chancel rebuilt c.1865 by W.F. Poulton. [...] Elaborate C15 octagonal stone font."