Hullavington / Bradfield in Hullavington / Hunlavintone

The National Gazetteer of 1868 mentions a church dedicated to St. Michael here, "an ancient structure, with a square tower." The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine (No. LXI, vol. XXI, August 1883) reports on a Friday, August 4th, outing of the members of the Society in which a visit was made, inter alia, to Bradfield, in the parish of Hullavington: "In the chapel of Bradfield is [...] the upper portion of the old Norman font". The Victoria County History (Wiltshire, vol. 14, 1991) notes: "Either Ralph Mortimer (fl. 1086) or, more likely, his son Hugh (d. 1148 X 1150) gave Hullavington church to the abbey of St. Victor. [...] In the late 12th century the church had a chapel at Surrendell (fn. 338) and then or later possibly another at Bradfield. [...] It is possible that monks living at Hullavington served the church in the 12th century [...] but by 1240 a vicarage had been ordained. [...] There may have been a chapel at Bradfield in the later 13th century [...] Another report infers that the chapel was the lower part of a tower of the manor house, [...] but that has not been verified. [...] The church was called St. Mary Magdalene's in 1408 [...] but by 1763 had been dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin [...] The registers begin in 1557"; there is no mention of a font in the VCH entry for this parish. There is an old basin located [October 2006] directly on the floor at St. Mary Magdalene's; it is a stone basin octagonal at the top but square at the bottom; the damage to the upper rim side permits to see the drilled holes made for the staples of the old cover on one side; the inner well is round. The new font, dated to 1864 by a plaque, is octofoil on the outside, with a round inner well; it is raised on a cluster of eight colonnettes with moulded caps and bases, the columns themselves alternating between plain stone and coloured marble. Flat round wooden cover; modern. [NB: we are unclear whether the old basin belonged to Bradfield's chapel/chantry, or the Hullavington church]. The Church of England web site [www.achurchnearyou.com] [accessed 15 February 2012] notes only one church and its dedication is given as St. Mary Magdalene.