Guildford No. 1 / Gildeford / Guldforde

There are seven entries for Guildford [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SU9949/guildford/] [accessed 22 August 2015]. The Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 3, 1911) notes: "The tower alone survives from the church of the 11th century, which probably consisted only of chancel and western tower. There is no trace of an early nave, but one may have existed. The north and south transepts were added about 1120 [...] The font is entirely modern; it has a square bowl of clunch with scalloped under-edge, resting on a chamfered square stem and four small stone shafts with scalloped capitals and moulded bases." The St Mary's Parish Council web site [www.guildford.gov.uk/article/3503/St-Marys-Church] [accessed 23 September 2011] notes: "The present stone tower was built between 950 and 1100. Saxon features include the shallow vertical strips and the narrow, double-splayed windows. [...] After the Norman Conquest the chancel, to the east of the tower, was rebuilt in stone. Traces of the Norman windows can still be seen in the side walls." English Heritage [Listing NGR: SU9961449344] (1953) notes: "Pre-conquest tower, circa 1040, with Norman transepts, circa 1100, length-ened into apsidal chapels in circa 1180", and reports a "Chalk font with square plinth and bowl on centre stem and surrounding angle piers with scalloped caps" in this church. The present baptismal font consists of a plain square basin with the lower edges scalloped; raised on a central shaft and four outer colonnettes; on a two-step square lower base and a small rectangular plinth. Square wooden cover, with metal decoration, a dove finial and four ring handles. All of it probably from the 1863 renovation of the old church. [NB: the shape and general look of the basin suggests this may have been recovered from an early font; unable for the time to look at the object in more detail we requested local help (BSI e-mail of 13 July 2016); here is the reply from one of St Mary's churchwardens: "I am the churchwarden at St. Mary’s, Guildford. Thank you for your enquiry about the font. I have always assumed that the font was introduced at the time of the restoration in 1863 though it is a little unusual. I assume that it was inspired by the stonework in the church. The interior of the bowl is covered with lead which has a definitely Victorian look. It continues over the rim of the bowl in a scallop pattern, with a trefoil at each corner. I can send you a photo. Sadly there is no illustration of the font until after the restoration, but this font features in all the post-1863 illustrations. It has moved about the church over the years. I haven’t seen a reference to it being installed but I will look again at the faculty for the 1863 work. There is an early 19th c drawing which is supposed to be a font but it looks more like a carved wooden Elizabethan box than anything else. So it’s a bit of a puzzle. I have never had the feeling that it is an earlier bowl re-used, but I have no proof. [...] Mary Alexander, Ph.D., FSA] -- we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church]