Great Witchingham / Wicingaha[m] / Wincingaham / Witchingham Magna / Witcingeham

The Domesday survey has several entries for Witchingham, under varying spellings, and does not make the distinction between the two present villages [Great and Little]; a single church "sine terra" is reported in it. Blomefield (1805-1810) provides descriptions for both churches; for Witchigham Magna, he writes: "The Church of Great Wichingham is dedicated to St. Mary, was anciently a rectory, granted to the priory of Longuevile, by Walter Giffard Earl of Bucks, and appropriated to it [...] The church and chancel are covered with lead, and has a square tower with 4 bells"; Blomefield (ibid.) names as first recorded vicar in 1312 "William de Baldeswell instituted vicar, nominated by the Bishop of Norwich, and presented by the proctor of the prior, and convent of Longevile". The present font is described in Thomas (1846): "The font, restored to use by the present vicar, occupies a space on the north side of the central avenue by the western pier. It forms a rich specimen of the Perpendicular era -is octagonal- beaded at the angles, and has its panels enriched with figures, carved in bold relief, representing the seven sacraments of the Romish church. The orifice is lined with lead, and has a drain: the shaft, of like pattern with the font, bears the crucifixion and other sculptures upon its sides. The whole, which seems to have been originally coloured, stands on a low oblong slab moulded at the sides." Illustrated in Tyrrell-Green (1928). Noted in Cautley (1949) as retaining traces of original paint. Octagonal mounted font of the Seven-sacrament group described and studied in Nichols (1992): The brilliant gilding and bright coulours "offsets extensive damage, making the reliefs relatively easy to read". Order of the scenes a/p Nichols: 1)Baptism; 2)Confirmation; 3)Penance; 4)Eucharist; 5)Extreme Unction; 6)Assumption of St. Mary; 7)Holy Orders; 8)Matrimony. She dates the font to the last quarter of the 15th century and gives Denston and Woodbridge as cognate fonts. Noted in Pevsner & Wilson (1997) with the figures on the stem described as saints. Described and illustrated in Knott (2004): "It is one of the finest in England, and not only because it retains so much medieval colour. Although the Sacrament reliefs themselves are a little characterless, the attention to detail, and the symbols of Saints below the bowl, make this very special, and, of course, there is that relief of the Assumption, such a rare survival. It faces north-west, and anti-clockwise around the font from it are the panels for Mass (seen sideways, the Priest kneeling at the altar, the acolyte behind with a taper), Ordination (the ordinand kneeling), Baptism (the Priest lowering the baby into the water), Confirmation (the confirmee standing), Penance (the Priest sits in a chair, the confessor on a bench, an angel guards them while the devil sneaks out the back way), Matrimony and the Last Rites (the sick man apparently on the floor covered in blankets). To see all these enlarged, click on the images below. Also below you can see enlargements of the Saints symbols beneath the bowl. The four Evangelists alternate with the four Doctors of the church - these last four seem to have been a popular subject locally, as they are on the roodscreen doors at both Cawston and Salle. The eagle of St John is under the Assumption panel, and then anti-clockwise they are St Ambrose, the lion of St Mark, St Gregory, St Matthew, St Augustine, the bull of St Luke, and St Jerome. Between the eight Saints are the heads of kings." The presence of the Assumption on the non-sacramental panel of the font is no doubt related to the dedication of this church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; most other Seven-Sacrament fonts tend to have a Crucifixion scene in that place.