Corley / Cornelie

There is entry for this Corley [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SP3085/corley/] [accessed 3 December 2014], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. The Victoria County History (Warwick, vol. 4, 1947) notes: "The advowson of the church of Corley was evidently granted with the manor to the Ringesdons, for Adam de Ringesdon presented a clerk called Robert about 1190. When Hugh de Nonant, Bishop of Coventry, expelled the monks of Coventry in 1191 he came to Corley and took the church away from Robert, the parson appointed by Adam, and afterwards consecrated the church. [...] The parish church (of St. Mary? dedication uncertain) consists of a chancel, nave, and north aisle. The nave is of early-12th-century origin and was very small, not more than about 28 ft. long. [...] The font has a round bowl with a moulded top edge and chamfered lower. A panel in its side is inscribed RR 1661 RI cw. The stem is plain, the base moulded." The font here is described and illustrated in the Spanglefish entry for Corley [www.spanglefish.com/corleyvillage/index.asp?pageid=244604] [accessed 3 December 2014]: "The stone Font stands on a square plinth. It has a round bowl and a wooden lid with a mounted cross. The inscription reads RR 1661 RI CW. It is thought that the CW perhaps stands for Church-Wardens, but the other letters remain a mystery. The Font could be earlier than the date suggests."

[NB: we have no information on the font of the original early-12th century church here].