Bisley / Bisley nr. Woking / Bisteleye / Busheley / Busseleghe / Busssley
Image copyright © Ron Strutt, 2005
CC-BY-SA-2.5
Results: 6 records
view of church exterior - well
Scene Description: "The Holy Well of St John the Baptist
This well is close to the church of St John the Baptist at Bisley, and is a Grade II listed building. From a sign on the site: "Reputedly this ancient well has never run dry or frozen up. It has provided a dependable supply of fresh water for centuries and was mentioned more than 300 years ago by John Aubrey, the Surrey antiquarian. Earlier still, there is evidence from the Pyrford Charter Bounds (956AD) suggesting that a church had been constructed near the well when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire. The spring water contains a significant amount of dissolved iron (as the rusty colour of the outflow shows). The well was restored by local volunteers in 2002 when an ugly concrete cap was removed."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Ron Strutt, 2005
Image Source: digital photograph 28 September 2005 by Ron Strutt
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.5
view of church exterior - well
Scene Description: "The Holy Well at Bisley. This is the source of the spring at Bisley which forms the Holy Well of St John the Baptist. Originally used by the Abbey at Chertsey, (now defunct), as a source of Holy Water. "
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Len Williams, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph 21 April 2014 by Len Williams
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.5
view of church exterior - south view
Scene Description: Source caption: "St John the Baptist Church, Bisley. This view of the church of St John the Baptist at Bisley shows the 13th century Nave and the Belfry and Porch which were added during the 14th century. Extensive renovation of the church was carried out during the 19th century."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Len Williams, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 16 April 2014 by Len Williams [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3934513] [accessed 18 December 2015]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0
view of font and cover
Image Source: image source not available
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE – IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
design element - architectural - arch or niche - trefoiled
Scene Description: on alternate sides of the basin
Image Source: image source not available
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE – IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
symbol - cross - Maltese - in a circle
Scene Description: on alternate sides of the basin
Image Source: image source not available
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE – IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
INFORMATION
Font ID: 13848BIS
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Date: ca. 1872?
Font Century and Period/Style: 14th century (?) [basin only], Medieval [composite]
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. John the Baptist
Font Location in Church: Inside
Church Patron Saint(s): St. John the Baptist
Previous Font Location(s): 14th century font originally came from Evesham Abbey
Church Notes: 12th-13thC church
Church Address: Church Ln, Bisley, Woking GU24 9DX, United Kingdom -- Tel.: +44 1483 473377
Site Location: Surrey, South East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located off the A322, just S of Chobham, 6 km NW of Woking
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Guildford
Historical Region: Hundred of Godley
Additional Comments: composite font (modern base) / re-purposed as bird bath in Chobham -- disappeared font(s)?
Font Notes:
Click to view
No individual entry found for this Bisley in the Domesday survey. Allen (1831) notes: "The font is round, quite plain." The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 3, 1911) reports: "The nave is probably that of a 12th-century building, but no details of that or even of the two following centuries are left […] The altar table and font are modern […] The church contains no ancient monuments" [NB: not certain whether the font noted in Allen was the early one, as the renovation of this church occurred in the early 1870s; if not the old font, we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church]. The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SU9578759592] notes: "Church. C13 with C14 porch. Early C19 chancel and north aisle 1873 [...] Sandstone font with octagonal bowl, panelled decorations on each face alternating roundels and celtic crosses. Octagonal stem on plinth below" but does not give a date for it. The entry for this church in Church Websites [https://www.bweparish.org.uk/301708400249.htm] [accessed 5 April 2026] informs: "The 14th century font originally came from Evesham Abbey and was given to the church by a gentleman who had used it as a bird bath in his garden at Chobham."
COORDINATES
UTM: 30U 665327 5688893
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 51.327268, -0.627013
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 51° 19′ 38.17″ N, 0° 37′ 37.25″ W
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone, sandstone?
Font Shape: octagonal - mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal
LID INFORMATION
Date: modern?
Material: wood, oak?
Notes: octagonal and flat; appears modern
REFERENCES
- Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
- Allen, Thomas, A History of the County of Surrey ; comprising every object of topographical, geological, or historical interest, London: Isaac Taylor Hinton, 1831, vol. 2: 60