Sea Palling / Palling / Palinga / Pallinga / Pauling / Pawling

There are three entries for this locality in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TG4226/palling/] [accessed 15 January 2014], but neither mentions a church or cleric in it. Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "The Church is dedicated to St. Margaret, and was a rectory, valued at 5 marks, and appropriated to the priory of Hickling, and a vicarage was settled in the reign of Edward I." [NB: the priory of Hickling was founded in 1185 and Edward I reigned 1272-1307; the settlement of previous rectories into vicarages usually took place soon after the appropriation by priories, abbeys, etc.] A soft-ground etching of this font, made by Elizabeth, Lady Palgrave, in 1814, is held at the British Museum [Department: Prints & Drawings. Registration number: 1871,0610.602. Location: British XIXc Unmounted Roy]. Described in Pevsner & Wilson (1997): "Octagonal, C14, with flatly modelled tracery patterns. Those on the bowl, are like a pattern-book, including pure Dec[orated] (reticulation) as well as pure Perp[endicular]." Noted and illustrated in Knott (2006) as a good font of the 14th century. On a modern two-step plinth. The wooden cover is also modern: flat, octagonal and plain. Listed in Leach (1975) as a font made of Purbeck marble, "two trefoil headed panels on each face of the bowl", a description that does not match the present font.