Whitelackington lies 1mi NE of Ilminster, Somerset, at the bottom of the northern slopes of the hills where, some 5mi. further S at the river Axe, Somerset gives way to Dorset. Those hills are of Gault, Greensand and Chalk but these northern slopes are of Jurassic formations: the small hamlet of Whitelackington lies at about 50m OD above sea-level at the western extremity of a broad band of Yeovil Sands (Upper Lias) in the predominantly Lias context of the area. The church of St Mary the Virgin, with only the manor house for company, is a few hundred metres on the other (S) side of the former main road and is built of Ham stone. It consists of nave with aisles, chancel, N porch and W tower. The church is mainly 14thc and 15thc; the font is believed by some to be Transitional (see Comments).

Aelmer held the estate prior to 1066; in 1086 it was held by Roger of Arundel.

Although not obviously Romanesque in design, the font is included in this inventory because a notice by it claims it to be of the late 12thc Transitional period on the authority of Harvey Pridham.

The font is not mentioned in the official listing text. It has to be said that the octagonal shape is more characteristic of the period after c. 1250 or 1300 than pre-1200, and there are no obvious tooling marks which would identify it as Romanesque. Although the spurs and semicircle motifs could suggest an earlier date, the broad details of the rest of the composition suggest it is in all probability 14thc.