Wonersh / Ognersh and Ignersh / Wogheners / Woghenersh / Wonherche / Wonhursche / Woronish

No entry found for Wonersh in the Domesday survey. Brayley (1850) writes: "The Church is a somewhat irregular edifice, of red brick, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It was mostly rebuilt, but in a bad style, (after having suffered from fire), in the year 1793", but does not mention any font in it. The Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 3, 1911) notes: "he church of Wonersh was formerly a chapel of Shalford", and suggests the "nave was probably that of the chapel built in pre-Conquest times, or at any rate before the close of the 11th century. [...] The font, of cup-shaped bowl, stem and base, is a restoration in sandstone, incorporating a curious band of ribbed work in a coarse grit-stone below the bowl, which, from its archaic character, may be of pre-Conquest date. This font was found buried beneath the floor at the restoration." The Wonersh Parish Church site [www.wonershchurch.org.uk/Groups/227053/Early_History.aspx] [accessed 13 December 2015] notes: "The font is a reconstruction of the original plain Norman cup shape bowl, and the earlier stem and base, using fragments of pieces found buried beneath the floor in 1901. The archaic band of ribbed work on coarse grit stone of the stem may date to pre-conquest times." This reconstructed font appears to have replaced another that was recorded by John Hassell (1767-1827) in a watercolour of 1822, now at the Hassell collection, in the Exploring Surrey's Past site [www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/people/artists/john_hassell/wonersh/] [accessed 13 December 2015] [NB: was this perhaps the new font introduced in the 1793 restoration of this church after the fire? [cf. Brayley, supra].