Griston / Gerston / Greston / Grestuna / Gristuna

Blomefield (1805-1810) notes: "The Church here was dedicated to St. Margaret, and was appropriated to the Prior and Convent of Bukenham", and names "Master Andrew de Fordham" as its first recorded rector/vicar, in 1217. Blomefield (ibid.) further notes an inscription "On the font, Ao. Dni. 1568, was this steple Tope newe set up to the greate Coste of landed Men." Four entries for this parish in Domesday cited in Blomefield (fol. 3, Gristuna; (fol. 32, 93, 127 Grestuna), of which the entry on fol. 93 mentions a church in it. An article in The Gentleman's Magazine (1817) notes: "The font, which is an octangular bason, lined with lead, and perforated at the bottom, stands upon an octangular shaft under the arch between the nave and steeple. The North side of the font bears this inscription: 'A'o D'ni 1568 was this Steple tope newe set up to the greate cost of landed me'." Farrer (1887 [1885?]) notes: "Four S[hields] carved in Stone, inside the pedestal of the old Font: 1. Bendy of ten (Cailit/, Gules, five bendlets argent See Vol. I., p. 58.) -- 2. Chequy, a bend over all (Clifion, Chequy, or and gules, a bend ermine.) -- 3. Caiily. -- 4. There is a portion of a mullet left of the dexter coat; impaling, Cailly. "The church here was appropriated to the Prior and Convent of Buckenham, the advowson of which, in 1306, was held by Thomas, son of Sir Osbert de Cailly."— J?/. Norf, i. 373; ii. 290." Pevsner & Wilson (1999), however, note: "Font. Plain, octagonal; an inscription in black-letter commemorates the completion of the steeple in 1568." Knott (2007) writes: "Beneath [the west gallery], the font is a fairly perfunctory late medieval octagonal one, except that to it has been added a most unusual inscription referring to the restoration of the tower in 1568:at that date was thys Steple tope newe set up to the great cost of landed men. This must refer to the battlements, and the phrase great cost means that they bore the larger part of it rather than that it was fabulously expensive". [NB: the absence of the shields reported in Farrer [cf. supra] is an indication that the original base has disappeared; the present stem and lower base appear modern; the basin itself has been re-tooled]. The wooden cover is of Jacobean design, octagonal base with eight raised scroll ribs around a turned centre pivot; appears Victorian. Listed in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as one in a very large group of baptismal fonts that are plain octagonal with straightsided basins.