East Hendred / Esthanreth / Hanred / Henred / Henret

There are eight entries for [East and West] Hendred [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/XX0000/east-and-west-hendred/] [accessed 27 May 2015], two of which mention a church in each. The Archaeological Journal (vol. XLIV, 1887: 296) reports: "The font is a plain octagon". Drawing of a font in the Harvey Pridham Drawings of English Fonts (MS 56). [Folder Number, Item Description]. University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Special Collections Dept., done by Harvey Pridham in June 1888 accompanied by the following description: "Octagonal, circular bowl, lead lined, vertical sides, flat at bottom, 12 1/2 deep, 3 1/2 margin. Position, half way down nave on N. side. The base is modern. Modern cover." Noted and illustrated in Keyser (1918). The Victoria County History (Berkshire, vol. 4, 1924) notes: "The church of East Hendred belonged in 1086 to the fee of the Count of Evreux [...] The earliest existing work is the south arcade of the nave, which dates from the late 12th century. [...] The font has a plain octagonal bowl." The plain octagonal font is probably from the 13th or 14th century, although it appears to have been re-cut or re-tooled [perhaps during the rebuilding of the chancel in the Victorian period?]. Octagonal wooden cover with low dome and turned finial; the sides of the lower volume have carved motifs in panels.