Oxford No. 10 / Oxeneford

There are thirteen entries for Oxford [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SP5106/oxford/] [accessed 9 November 2016], two of which mention a church in each. Poole (1842) notes that this font is mentioned in "the memorials of Oxford" and in "the glossary of Architecture", and suggests a date ca. 1520. Noted in Gardner's Gazetteer (1852) [www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/d.asp] [accessed 30 June 2007]: "The font, which is in a very rich style of the 14th century, is in good preservation." Murray (1882) quotes a curious practice in this font: "'It was the custom for the people of the parish to eat sugar sops out of the font in this church on Holy Thursday".-- Hearne." The Victoria County History (Oxford, vol. 4, 1979) notes: "The church was first recorded early in the 12th century, but its name, a corruption of 'old gate', suggests a much earlier foundation, [...] for the original invocation had been lost by that date. [...] The font dates from the 15th century and its cover from the 17th century [footnoted: "Oxf. (R.C.H.M.), 128 and pl. 26"]. [NB: Gardner (ibid.) notes that a church may have existed on this site since pre-Saxon times, but we have no information of the earlier fonts of this church]. The St. Aldates Parish web site [www.staldates.org.uk/content.asp?pageRef=289] [accessed 28 November 2008] states: "By the main west entrance you will find a medieval octagonal stone font which probably dates from 1336." The font consists of an octagonal basin with a protruding moulded upper rim with cherub heads at the angles; the sides have panels with human heads inscribed in quatrefoils, and a thin moulding below; the underbowl chamfer has large leaves, a motif that repeats itself on the base, next to lions (?) at every other angle. Raised on an octagonal plinth.