Winchester No. 3 / Venta Belgarum / Wintanceaster / Yenta Belgaruan

White (1878) reports "an ancient font of Purbeck marble" in this church. The church itself, adds White (ibid.) "was built about 1400, in the Pointed style". The Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 5, 1912) notes: "The font is of late 12th-century date and has an arcade of shallow round-headed arches on the faces of the square Purbeck marble bowl, which rests on four circular angle shafts." [NB: the church had fallen into disuse in the 1940s and was threatened with demolition; it was put to use by the Winchester Dramatic Society under the name of 'The Chesil Theatre']. Richard Green [e-mail communication to BSI, 9 September 2011] informs that the font was moved and is now in use at the Parish Church of All Saints, also in Winchester. The font consists of a square basin with four blind round arches on each side; a plain underbowl with rounded edges; on a broad central shaft and four outer colonnettes, all plain; raised on a plain square lower base. The wooden cover (oak?) is modern. Mr. Green describes the stone as "Petworth marble" [aka Sussex marble or Winklestone, and, like "Purbeck marble", not really a marble].