Shipston-on-Stour / Scepwaeisctune / Scepwestun / Scepwestvn / Schipeston / Schipton / Sepestonon-Sture / Sepwestun / Sipestone

There is an entry for Shipston [on Stour] [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SP2540/shipston-on-stour/] [accessed 30 September 2014], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Miller (1890) reports a modern font in a church that "was a chapel or chauntry of Treddington [sic]. In 1200 Mangerus, Bishop of Worcester, declared it to be subject to the Rector of Tredington". The Victoria County History (Worcester, vol. 3, 1913) notes: "Shipston was in reality a chapelry of Tredington until 1719 [...] The whole of the church, except the 15th-century tower, was rebuilt in 1855 in the style of the 14th century. Beyond the tower there are now no old remains [...] From notes made by Prattinton in 1812 the former church appears to have been of early date, consisting of a chancel and chapel and a nave separated from a north aisle by a round-arched arcade. The font, however, was of 1707." It is not clear from the records how far back the original chapel went and how full its chapel-of-ease functions were, but the baptismal records start in 1572, which indicate there must have been a font here at least by that date, though probably much earlier. The present font is decribed in Historic England [Listing NGR: SP2592740626] (1966): "hexagonal font with C14-style traceried panels with fleuron cornice", without a date.