Crimplesham / Creplesham

There is no mention of church or cleric in the Domesday entry for "Creplesham", but Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "The Church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was a rectory, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Clare and Brion in Normandy, gave in the reign of William II.[i.e., 1087-1100] the lordship and the church of St. John of Clare in Suffolk, to the abbey of Bec in Normandy; [...] and this church was confirmed to them by Pope Alexander III. and was appropriated, the spiritualities being taxed at 20 marks, (a vicarage was settled, valued at 40s.) and there belonged to it a manor with 50 acres of land. [...] It is a single pile, with a chancel covered with reed, and built of coarse stone, found in the neighbourhood; has a square tower, embattled, &c. with 5 large bells". The font here is listed in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as one in a very large group of baptismal fonts that are plain octagonal with straightsided basins. Noted in Pevsner & Wilson (1999) as a font of the 17th century. Illustrated in context in Knott (2009). The sides of the basin are actually decorated at top and bottom with flat mouldings, and at the bottom of the underbowl chamfer there is a moulding all around. The date asasigned in Pevsner & Wilson appears appropriate. [NB: we have no information on the font of the original 11th-century church here].