Holton nr. Wincanton

There is an entry for this Holton [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/ST6826/holton/] [accessed 24 April 2018], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Kelly's Directory of 1883 reports: "the font is early work" [NB: Kelly has the dedication of this church as St. John's]. 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 July 1888 accompanied by the following description: "All circular. Circular bowl inside, the inner edge chamfered like that shown in drawing: no lead lining, raked sides, flat plan, 11" deep, 2 7/8 margin over all; position, under open West Tower Arch. No cover." Wade & Wade (1929) report a Norman font in this church. The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Somerset, vol. 7, 1999) notes: "The church was described as a chapel in 1316 but from the beginning of the following year the living was known as a rectory [...] The font probably dates from the 12th century." The Team Ministry website of the Camelot Parishes [http://myspace.surefish.co.uk/~rob.sage1/html/holton.html] [accessed 16 March 2008] note the "Norman stone Font which could have come here from an earlier church". Not mentioned in Pevsner (1958). The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: ST6852826849] reports: "Fittings include a plain tub type of font, possibly C12". The entry for this church in the CRSBI (2018) notes: "The only Romanesque feature is the font [...] The font stands in the SW part of church, immediately W of the lateral doorways and immediately S of the central axis of the nave. It has a plain tub-shaped bowl with a thin projecting roll encircling it just below the halfway point. The sides fall vertically as far as the roll, then taper inwards below it. The bowl sits on a cylindrical base with a roll-moulded rim and below it a pair of thin projecting rolls encircling it. This stands on a plain drum plinth of ashlar blocks. There is slight damage to the rim of the bowl at the SE; that, together with the inserted repair at the opposite NW, suggests a previous lock-fitting. There is no lead. The internal sides, which show diagonal tooling, drop fairly straight to a flattish bottom."