Broughton is a small village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire about three miles W of Skipton. The church of All Saints is isolated, about a mile W of Broughton Hall and away from the A56 and the hamlet of Broughton. The building consists of a low chancel and nave in one, with N aisle, S porch and stumpy W tower; windows are square-headed. There is evidence of an earlier arrangement in the S wall of the chancel, where a blocked doorway and parts of windows are seen in the wall fabric. The S doorway to the nave dates to the late 12thc; inside there is a simple font in purplish sandstone.

The Domesday Survey records that in 1066 'Broctune' was held by Thorbrand, who had 8 carucates of land for geld between Bank Newton (and Gargrave) and Broughton; 4 thegns, including Gamal, had 12 carucates for geld; in 1086 Berengar of Tosny had 3 carucates and Roger the Poitevin 12 carucates. No church is mentioned there. In 1120 the church was granted to Embsay Priory (then St Mary and St Cuthbert at Bolton Abbey) by Cecilia de Romeli, wife of William Meschines, and founder of the priory. The gift was confirmed by Cecilia's niece, Aeliz de Romeli, and his husband William, nephew of the King of Scotland, before they consented to the move of the priory to Bolton in 1151.

Font

It might be that the bowl was originally a cylinder, then chamfered in the lower part at a later date to be put on a stem; the straightness of the junction suggests recutting on a turntable or lathe, whereas the upper part appears to have been made without such equipment, yet tooling in both zones is much the same.