Dibden / Debden / Depedene / Dupeden

There is an entry for Dibden [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SU3908/dibden/] [accessed 21 September 2018] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 4, 1911) notes: "In 1262 Ralph, the rector, had a dispensation to hold an additional benefice, as Dibden was worth hardly more than ten marks. In 1291 the church was valued at £16 13s. 4d. [...] The proportions of the nave suggest that its walls represent those of a 12th-century church [...] Early in the 13 th century this chancel was replaced by the present one [...] The font dates from c. 1200, and has a square marble bowl with central stem and a square base. The sides of the bowl show traces of decoration with lines and curves." The entry for this church in the CRSBI (2018) notes: "The only Romanesque feature is the Purbeck marble font. [...] On the N side of the nave, opposite the S doorway. It is of Purbeck marble with a square bowl mortared to a large, square quirked chamfered impost block the is supported on the usual 5 shafts, the outer ones with cushion capitals and tall bulbous bases. These stand on a modern plinth and step. The bowl is not lined, but fitted with a framework for a modern steel basin. The upper surface of the bowl is generally eroded, and the four faces are decorated with relief designs as described below. 1. S face[:] A row of 3 tall lilies with its symmetrical side petals apparently compass-drawn producing the effect of arcading. 2. E face[:] A shallow arcade of 7 bays, completely unarticulated. 3. N face[:] Two large quatrefoils in the form of saltires, badly eroded and difficult to read. 4. W face[:] A row of three half-circles engraved along the rim, touching a similar design along the bottom of the face and thus forming lozenges in the interstices. This face is deeply grooved and worn in a horizontal central band." [NB: this church was destroyed by incendiary bombs in WWII, on 20 June 1940; the font was damaged; both church and font were later restored]