The village of Mottisfont is located in the Test Valley, NW of Romsey. The church of St Andrew is a rendered building with a W bell turret, an aisleless nave and a chancel. The nave is now entered through the W doorway but the S porch (converted into a small vestry in 1887-88) contains a plain, round-headed doorway of one chamfered order. The chancel arch is decorated with Romanesque sculpture. A heavily retooled Purbeck marble font sits at the W end of the nave, under the belfry.

In 1086, as in 1066, the Archbishop of York held one church and six chapels in Mottisfont (Mortesfunde). The chapels were Broughton, Pittleworth, East Tytherley, West Tytherley, (East) Dean and Lockerley. It has been suggested that Mottisfont was an Anglo-Saxon Minster, supporting these associated parishes. It continued to be held by the archbishops of York until 1547.

The church was restored in 1874 and 1887-88. In 1874 it was reported: ‘The north side of the space under the belfry is set apart for the baptistery, the old font of Purbeck marble, which has not been used for many years, but which has lately been repolished, being placed near the west wall’ (Wilts County Mirror, 1 September 1874, 8).

The damage to the impost band of the chancel arch appears to have resulted from the installation of a screen, and possibly other furnishings, in the medieval period. The date of the restoration of the chancel arch, including the replacement of the S capital, is uncertain. It was probably carried out in 1874 or 1887-88.

The retooling of the font can be dated to 1874 (see History). Originally, like comparable fonts in the locality (e.g. Leckford), it may have been carved with shallow arches on each face.