Cadney is a village in the North Lincolnshire district of the county, 3 mile S of Brigg and 9 miles SE of Scunthorpe. The church is in the centre of the village and consists of a W tower, nave and chancel, primarily of the Gothic period. The N aisle of the nave was demolished in 1780 and replaced by a N wall. The church was restored in 1912-1914 by Sir Charles Nicholson. The font is the only Romanesque feature.

The chief holding in Cadney was that of Earl Morcar in 1066, held by the King in 1086. It was assessed at 8 carucates and included 360 acres of meadow. A smaller holding of 5 bovates was in the hands of Grimbald Krakr in 1066 and Count Alan of Brittany in 1086.

In 1171 Henry II founded a House of Gilbertine Canons at Newstead-on-Ancholme (Lincs), endowing it with lands at Cadney and elsewhere in the county. These lands were still in the possession of the priory when it was dissolved in 1538.

The nondescript nature of all the elements in this font's decoration raise suspicion of it being a fake. Nevertheless both Pevsner and the List Description describe it as Romanesque without qualification. The same may be said for the S aisle which Pevsner records as "Norman," but given the unusual capitals, with extremely flat leaves, it is probably Romanesque revival.