Rushall nr. Pewsey

There is a 1807 watercolour of this font by John Buckler (1770-1851). Described in Buck (1951): "A wide octagonal bowl with moulded rim amd two round-headed recessed panels on each side, mounted on a wide octagonal stem. The base looks like an upturned Norman capital which may have been re-used in its present position after the nave had been rebuilt in the fourteenth century." The Victoria County History (Wiltshire, vol. 10, 1975) notes: "A church stood at Rushall in 1086. [...] It belonged to the abbey of St. Wandrille de Fontenelle [...] Nothing remains of the church that stood at Rushall in 1086. A new church was built in 1332. [...] In 1402 it was said to be St. Andrew's [...] but was subsequently the church of St. Mathew. [...] The church was extensively restored in 1905 [...] The church contains a 12th-century font ". In Pevsner & Cherry (1975): "Font. Octagonal, Norman. The bowl of the familiar Purbeck type with two very shallow blank arches on each side, the foot probably a re-used Late Norman capital with upright leaves like fluting. It must have belonged to a pier as substantial as those at Stapleford." Described and illustrated in the 'Rushall: Village Design Statement' [http://www.kennet.gov.uk/rushall_vds_issue_1_-_27_oct_2008.pdf] [accessed 7 December 2008]: "All that survives from that church is the 12th Century octagonal font placed on a reused Norman capital." The basin shows a large insert-stone repair that appears to coincide with the part of the upper rim where the old cover fastenings may have broken the old stone. The wooden cover is round and flat, with a large flat cross and a ring handle; modern.