Blakeney / Blakeney nr. Holt / Esnuterle / Esnuterlea / Sniterley / Sniterly / Snitterley / Snuterlea

Blakeney appears in three entries in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TG0343/blakeney/] [accessed 20 January 2014] with one church in them. The Domesday entry transcribed and translated in Blomefield (1895-1810) shows the part held by "William de Beaufoe Bishop of Thetford" with "a church endowed with 30 acres". Blomefield (ibid.) writes: "The church is a rectory dedicated to St. Nicholas [...] The Church is very spacious, both in length and breadth, containing a nave, 2 isles, and a chancel, all built of stone, with a stately, large, and lofty four-square tower of stone, and is a famous sea-mark; the chancel roof is curiously vaulted with free-stone, and covered as the church, with lead; at the north-east corner of the chancel arises a lofty stone turret, wherein was formerly (as reported) a fire-beacon, or light-house"; the first rector named in this author: "Hamon Peche occurs rector in the 14th of Edward I" [i.e., 1286]. Farrer (1887 [1885?]) describes the shields on the font: "XI. A scourging pillar between on either side scourging whips. Shield of the Passion. -- XII. Cross, with crown of thorns ; in saltire, spear and reed with sponge ; in the dexter base three nails, and in the sinister base a ladder. Shield of the Passion. -- XIII. In pale the pot of vinegar [?] suspended, over all a hatchet and spear in saltire, between on the dexter side the seamless coat [?] and on the sinister a club. Shield of the Passion. -- XIV. A heart ; in chief two hands, and in base two feet (Shield of the Five Wounds, Argent, a wouded heart gules ; in chief two hands, and in base two feet, all couped proper and wounded gules. See vol. i., p. 148.)" Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a 15th-century baptismal font ornamented with symbols of the Passion on the basin panels. Hutton (1957) describes it as "a fine 15C P[erpendicular] font carved with figures of saints and emblems on the bowl." Cautley (1982) notes "on the front the ear of Malchus on the sword of Peter". Noted in Pevsner & Wilson (1997): "Octagonal. Perp[endicular], with the signs of the Evangelists and four seated Prophets. Against the stem three shields with the Instruments of the Passion and one with a sun." Noted and illustrated in Knott (2004).