Bowerchalke / aet Ceolcan / Bower Chalke / Burchelke / Cealcan gemere / Cealce / Celce / Chalk Magna / Chalke Magna / Chawke / Chelce / Chelche [Domesday] / Chelke / Cheolc / Cheolca / Cheolcam

There is an entry for [Bower]Chalke and [Broad] Chalke [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/XX0000/bowerchalke-and-broad-chalke/] [accessed 13 September 2015], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it [NB: curiously the entry reports "men of the church" as sharing the lordship of this place in 1066, prior to the Conquest; they appear to have been associated with Wilton abbey; Wilton abbey retained the shared lordship after the Conquest, as did many of the religious houses]. Buck (1951) list this as one of a group of circular fonts with moulded edges dating from the late 12th or early 13th century in the county of Wiltshire, at Barford St. Martin, Bower Chalke, Burcombe, Chilmark, Codford St. Mary [...], Monkton Deverill, Donhead St. Andrew, Teffont Magna. The Victoria County History (Wiltshire, vol. 13, 1987) notes: "Although the font is of the 12th century, the oldest parts of the building are of c. 1300". The basin is chamfered at the upper rim and has a thick roll moulding at the centre ring position; the cylindrical stem of the base looks suspiciously neat and may be either modern or re-tooled; on an octagonal plinth with kneeling stone. The wooden cover consists of a round platform on which stand four stylised vertical ribs; gilded dove finial; modern.