Chiseldon / Chiseldene

Buck (1951) notes a trio of similar plain octagonal fonts mounted on octagonal stems at Wilsford, Chiseldon and Ogbourne St. Andrew, all three dating from the late Norman or Transitional period. The Victoria County History (Wiltshire, vol. 9, 1970) notes: "According to a charter of Edward the Elder the church of Chiseldon was granted in 903 to the New Minster, Winchester, later Hyde Abbey. [...] The church was valued for the taxation of 1291 at £20. [...] t is apparent from the interior that the fabric dates largely from soon after 1200. An even earlier origin for the church is suggested by the head of a small Saxon window which has been built into a pier near the south-west corner of the nave." There is, however, no mention of a font in the VCH entry. The present baptismal font consists of an octagonal basin in which the upper rim shows evidence of stone insert repairs, probably in the area where the old metal staples had been; raised on a plain octagonal lower base. The wooden cover is octagonal, plain and flat; appears modern.