Burgh Castle / Cnobersburg / Cnobheresburg

An early church is noted in Suckling (1846-1848): "In the time of Edward the Confessor [i.e., 1042-1066] [...] The church was endowed with ten acres of land, and one of meadow". On the present church, however, Suckling (ibid.) adds that the "prominent architectural features [...] are late perpendicular" [...] at the west end of the body of the church stands a good octangular font, the panels of which, besides bearing the emblems of Our Lord's Passion, and of the Trinity, show the arms of the bishopric of Ely. John Alcock, who presided over the see in the reign of Henry VII [i.e., 1485+], is said, by a collateral descendant of that prelate, now living at Yarmouth, to have been prior at St. Olave's. As the church of Burgh was a dependency of that house, could the presence of these arms be connected with this circumstance, supposing the tradition to be true, which I very much doubt, as no such name as Alcock occurs in the list of priors there?" The font is typical of one of the varieties of the East Anglia design of the 15th century: octagonal basin with deeply-carved panels that include four demi-agels holding shields with emblems and coat(s) of arms, alternating with seated gardant lions; two levels on the underbowl chamfer: cherubs at the angles of the upper level (some damaged), and floral motifs on the panels of the lower level; octagonal-to-square pedestal base with seated lions (some damaged) alternating with buttresses. The damage to the font appears to be more related to old age wear-and-tear than to targeted iconoclasm, as the essential symbols that would have attracted Reformist and Commonwealth wrath seem to be have survived on it anyway.