Marston Magna / Merstone

There are two entries for Marston [Magna] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/ST5922/marston-magna/] [accessed 18 April 2018], neither of which mentions cleric or church in it, although there may have been an 11th-century church here [cf. VCH entry infra]. The National Gazetteer (1868) mentions an ancient font in this church. The Handbook for travellers… (1869) and Kelly's Directory of 1883 report a Norman font. Wade & Wade (1929) write: "The font has a fluted basin, and is doubtless Norm[an]". Noted in Pevsner (1958): "Circular, Norman, with decorated flutes or scallops. The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Somerset, vol. 7, 1999) notes: "The church has traces of 11th-century masonry in its fabric [...] some re-set 11th-century work above the chancel arch", and mentions "an arcaded Norman font" in the present church. The entry for this church in Historic England [IoE Number: 262672] reports a "Norman lead-lined font with cylindrical base and decorated scallops" in it. The Parish site [http://marstonmagnachurch.org/marstonmagnachurch.org-4.html] [accessed 18 April 2018] illustrates the font and notes: "That a Saxon church existed on the site prior to the Norman Conquest is proved by the existence of two small pre - Norman stone window heads, built in on each side of the central arch. The remains of the Norman church are very distinct [...] Another complete feature of this period is the fine Norman font with scallop moulding round its sides. Standing on its original stem and base it is lined inside with the original lead." The basin is round and has a band of trumpet scallops decorated on the scallop part with foliage (?) motifs; the almost vertical down projection of the scallops forms a fluted pattern all around the basin sides, down to a thin moulding that demarcates the end of the basin and the beginning of the plain cylindrical stem of the base; the low splaying lower base is round but there is one more volume below which is square; raised on a modern quadrangular plinth. The low-dome cover appears modern.