Samlesbury / Samelesbiry / Samelesbure / Samesbury / Samplesbiry / Schamelesbyre / Schampelesbyri

No individual entry for Samlesbury found in the Domesday survey. The entry for this township in the Victoria County History (Lancaster, vol. 6, 1911) notes: "The recorded history of Samlesbury chapel goes back to the middle of the 12th century, when it was a chapel of ease to Low or Walton-le-Dale [...] Originally the building, which dates substantially from the year 1558, had a wooden bell-turret over the west gable, but this was removed at the time the tower was built. The original chapel, which existed in the 12th century, had probably been rebuilt, and the ancient masonry now incorporated in the east and west walls may belong to a 14th or early 15th-century building [...] The font is circular, and consists of a rough piece of stone with chamfered edge, being probably of 12th-century date. The base is modern." Hartwell & Pevsner (2009) note the date of consecration of the original (?) church as 1196, and note an old font inside: "An ancient tub with an architectural cover dated 1899". The entry for this church in Lancashire Past [https://lancashirepast.com/2017/10/25/st-leonard-the-less-church-samlesbury-near-preston/] [accessed 13 March 2019] notes: "Other things of note include the Norman font, which probably came from St Leonard’s Church in Walton le Dale. It had been left in the churchyard for many years before being restored to its present position in 1896."