Wath / Wat / Wath-near-Ripon / Wath-by-Ripon / Waz

There is an entry for this Wath [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SE3277/wath/] [accessed 27 November 2019] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Glynne (in Butler, 2007) does not mention any font inside this church. The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (York North Riding, vol. 1, 1914) notes: "Before 1156 the church of Wath was granted by one of the Earls of Richmond to the Abbot and convent of Mont St. Michel [...] The nave doubtless dates from the 12th century, when the church had merely a nave and small apsidal chancel, the foundations of which were uncovered in 1872 [...] The font is a modern square one on a round stem. The older font stem, apparently of no great antiquity, stands in the churchyard south of the transept; it is square in plan with much-perished moulds about the top and middle and a chamfered base. It stands on two octagonal steps or stone platforms and is covered by a modern octagonal bowl." The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SE3251377152] notes: "Church. C13 and C15, tower 1812. Restoration 1873" but mentions no font in it. There is, however, a separate listing for a "Font in Graveyard of Church of St Mary, Against West Wall of South Transept" in Historic England [Listing NGR: SE3251077144] that reads: "Font. Possibly C15. Sandstone. 2 tier octagonal base, square section stem with 2 bands of very worn roll mouldings. Octagonal bowl", with an accompanying illustration. There are now [September 2007] two fonts in this church: the one inside the church, located on the west side of the nave, by the shouth wall, is modern, a square basin with chanfered sides raised on a round pedestal base and a polygonal plinth; the sides of the basin are decorated with a cross, the symbol of the Holy Ghost, an inscription ["One Lord -- Faith -- Baptism"] and three fish arranged forming a triangle; the chamfered angles have foliage motif; the other font is outside the church [cf. supra] and it does not appear to have been the original font of the old church, but rather a late octagonal basin with a small inner well, raised on a square moulded base, and a two-step plinth, all three parts probably from different periods. [NB: we have no information on the font of the original(?) 12th-century church here].