Clapton-on-the-Hill / Clapton (Gloucs.)

No individual entry found for this Clapton / Clapton-on-the-Hill in the Domesday survey. The Victoria County History (Gloucester, vol. 6, 1965) notes: "Architectural evidence indicates that Clapton church existed by the late 12th century; the absence of any medieval documentary reference to it is explained by the fact that it was a chapel of ease to Bourton-on-the-Water. [...] Most of the fabric may be of the late 12th century,, the date of the responds of the chancel arch, the south doorway with its lintel and small tympanum hidden by plaster, and the plain tub font"; the VCH entry footnotes this latter part: "'Glos. Fonts', Trans. B.G.A.S. xlix, 132–3." The baptismal font consists of a bucket-shaped basin, the lower end of which has large scallops that appear to have been cut to fit it onto a plain octagonal pedestal; it is not clear whether the 'fitting' is original or was carried out at a later date, though the base appears medieval. The wooden cover is round and flat, with a knob finial; probably modern.