Broadwindsor is 2mi W of Beaminster in Dorset, some 15mi NW of Dorchester. The church of St John the Baptist today consists of a chancel and N vestry of 1867-8, a nave, an early C13th N aisle and a late C12th S aisle, all rebuilt in 1867-8 when the S porch was added, and a C15th W tower.

Noted as ‘Windesore’ in the Domesday Book. There is no mention of a church. Of the C12th, only the S arcade (much rebuilt) and the font survive from that time. The nave and chancel were demolished and extended one bay eastwards in 1867-8, as illustrated by a graphic photograph of that time hanging by the S door.

Square Purbeck fonts are reasonably common and to be expected in Dorset, although the geometric decorative motifs of this example are hard to parallel.