South Croxton / Crochestone / Crockefstone / Crofton / Vroptone / Crowfon

There are two entries for [South] Croxton [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SK6910/south-croxton/] [accessed 4 March 2015], neither of which mentions cleric or church in it. Pevsner (1984) writes: "Font. Norman, of tub shape. Coarsely decorated. A tier of closely-set intersected arches and above this another of intersected rings." Described in the South Croxton web page [www.south-croxton.co.uk/church_history.htm] [accessed 21 October 2007] :"The present church replaced that original building, and dates mostly from the early 14th.century [...] There is evidence of some Norman foundations in the north aisle, which was not built; and the Norman font was placed in the new church, given a 14th. century octagonal base, and is still in use." The bucket-shaped basin has a combination of decorative motifs; the upper basin side has a pattern of linked rings on one side, above a narrow blind arcade of intersecting round arches below; around the back from that, the upper side has the round arches of a much larger and wider arcade similar in design to the other one, but the last arch-head contains a large rounded human face or mask; the lower rim appears to have been decorated with a rope moulding, but it is too worn to be discerned with any certainty. It is a pity that, whereas the other sides, though damaged at the upper rim, have managed to retain the crispness and detail of the original carving, the side with the mask or head, which one would associate with the 'main' side of the font, has lost some its sharpness. The polygonal pedestal base is a later [14th-century?] replacement.