Great Dunham / Dunham Magna

There are three entries for Dunham in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/XX0000/great-and-little-dunham/] [accessed 5 February 2014], neither of which mentions a church or cleric in it. Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "From ancient writings it appears that there were two churches in this town, that of St. Mary, and St. Andrew, and institutions into both, to the year 1491, as will appear. Wimer, lord of Gressenhale, dapifer to the first Earl Warren, is said to have given to the priory of Castleacre the church of Dunham Magna; (fn. 3) but it is not expressed which church, probably that of St. Andrew, Hervey Canis giving to the said priory the church of St. Mary of Dunham Magna, with the advowson, and confirmed to the said priory all the donations of his predecessors, and 5 acres at Racheness, with part of his meadow at Sudacre, near to their court from the outward ditch, which joins to the meadow of the monks, staightways to the great water s. d. and Eudo de Arsick, with the consent of Alice his wife, confirmed this gift of Hervey, father of Alice. Sometimes this church of St. Mary is called a chapel, and Eborard Bishop of Norwich, in Henry the First's reign, is said to have confirmed the church of Dunham, with the chapel of St. Mary, to the aforesaid priory, and John de Oxford Bishop of Norwich, in Henry the Second's time, confirmed also the churches of St. Andrew and St. Mary: the said Bishop instituted Gervase de Norwich, clerk, into the church of St. Mary Dunham mercate, at the presentation of the prior and convent of Castleacre; and after, at the request of the said Gervase, rector, the said Bishop received Roger Clerk into the vicarage, paying yearly to Gervase 3 marks, and answering for the said Gervase to the Bishop, and his ministers, by which it seems that a rector in that age had a power to nominate a titular vicar for his time to take care under him of the cure, with the consent of the Bishop. Thomas de Blundevile, Bishop, in his first year instituted Edmund de Walpole, clerk, to the church of St. Mary, on the presentation of the prior, &c. and Jordan occurs rector in Henry the Third's time. These two churches of St. Andrew and St. Mary were standing probably in 1518, though in the institution books of Norwich, mention is made only of St. Mary, into which the rectors were instituted then, and that only appears to be valued in the King's Books. In 1522, sentence was given for the right of the rector of the churches of St. Mary and St. Andrew of Dunham Magna to take tithes of 13 acres of land, called Pentons, on February 6." [NB: the first mention of a church/chapel here appears to be the one relating to confirmation of the chapel of St. Mary by the bishop of Norwich, identified in the DNB (1885-1900, vol. 16: 351) as "Eborard or Everard (1083?-1150)", consecrated in 1121; Henry I died in 1135, all of which puts the existence of a church at Dunham Magna between 1121 and 1135 -- on the other hand, if the W door of the church is Saxon, the original chapel/church would be pre-Conquest, despite the lack of corroboration in the Domesday survey]. Of the present church Blomefield (ibid.) notes: "The Church is built in a conventual form, with a tower between the nave and the chancel, which is thatched, but the nave is leaded." Lewis' Dictionary edition of 1848 records that "the font is curious", but gives no details or date for it. Farrer (1887 [1885?]) describes the emblems: "On the Font. II. The cross with the crown of thorns. -- III. Shield of the Passion, the scourging pillar, &c. -- IV. Defaced. -- V. Defaced." Noted in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font in the Perpendicular style decorated with symbols of the Passion and the four Evangelists alternating on the bowl panels. Described in Pevsner & Wilson (1999): "Octagonal. Stem with eight hung-up shields. Bowl with four defaced shields and the signs of the four Evangelists." Illustrated in Knott (2004, 2007). There appear to be angel heads on the underbowl. The cover is round and flat.