Coulsdon / Colesdone / Cowlesdon / Culesdon / Cullesdon / Curedesdone / Old Coulsdon

There is an entry for Coulsdon [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/TQ2959/coulsdon/] [accessed 17 March 2016], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Allen (1831) notes: "The font is a plain square basin; on one side of it-- 'February the 24th, 1663". Brayley (1850) notes: "Beneath the pulpit, which is on the left of the entrance, stands the font, consisting of a stone pillar and basin; within the latter is a smaller, and very neat, circular basin, with a cover." [NB: the vessel inside the stone basin was probably used as the container of the baptism water, avoiding thus the use of the older basin, a common thing even today]. The Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 4, 1912) notes: "The advowson of the church of Coulsdon mentioned in Domesday Book [?] [...] belonged to the abbey and convent of Chertsey [...] The church of ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST occupies the site of one standing here in 1086 [?]"; the VCH further notes that the font is modern. The Parish website [http://www.coulsdon.net/stjohns/tour/v4nx.htm#topdown] [accessed 6 August 2010] illustrates a font and cover under the heading 'Old Church Font': "This font is rarely used now as Baptisms are normally in services in the new church. It is between the entrances to the Church Lounge. The cover may be removed for safety when there are activities in the nave." The font illustrated there is probably modern, despite the description in the Parish website, possibly 19th-century, and consists of a rather shallow octagonal basin with panels containing floral motifs inscribed in quatrefoils, raised on a slender octagonal stem with trefoil tracery, and a moulded lower base also octagonal; the font is a basic neo-Perpendicular design, but most likely Victorian. The pyramidal cover is painted and gilded, and bears an inscription: "In loving memory of Eidith Ellis 1865-1947. [NB: the font reported in Allen (1831) bearing an inscription with the date 1663 could possibly have a medieval font that was returned to the church in the Restoration period, and the date of the return thus newly carved onto the old font, as the square shape is not one that usually occurs on mid-17th century fonts].