South Hill nr. Biggleswade / Southill / Southyevell / Sudgible / Sudgivele

The Victoria County History (Bedford, vol. 3, 1912) notes: "The advowson of Southill Church was part of the original endowment of Newnham Priory [...] by Simon de Beauchamp, as is confirmed in the second charter of Henry I [i.e., 1100-1135] [...] A repair, almost amounting to a rebuilding, in 1814 has taken away most of the interest of the church. [...] In the west bay is a three-light north window with geometrical tracery of very good style, covered with cement, but apparently old; it must date from c. 1300. [...] The font, which is modern and stands in the centre of the nave between the north and south doors, is octagonal with panelled sides." That font must have been replaced with the present one, a slender object made in 1937 by Sir Albert Richardson that bears an inscription on the upper rim of the basin with name of the person to whom the font was dedicated, Joscelyne Whitbread, according to the on-line church guide [http://allsaintssouthill.btck.co.uk/Guide] [accessed 11 March 2013]. [NB: we have no information on the original font from the 13th-14th century church, or an even earlier one from the original 12th-century church mentioned in the VCH [cf. supra]].