Aldborough nr. Matlask / Alburgh / Aldeburc [Domesday] / Aldeburg

There is no mention of church or cleric in the Domesday entry for "Aldeburc". Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "The Church is dedicated to St. Mary, and is a rectory [...] In the 3d of Henry III. a fine was levied between Robert de Basingham, petent, and Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk, deforcient, of this advowson. [...] In the 37th of Henry III. William de Ruse, occurs rector. In the reign of Edward I. the Earl of Norfolk was patron; and the rector had a manse with 16 acres of land." The date of the levy related to the advowson of this church [cf. supra] indicates that a church was active here by 1219. The present font here is noted in Pevsner & Wilson (1997): "Font. Octagonal with quatrefoiled circles and tracery." The font consists of an octagonal vertical sides decorated with tracery, considerable damage is obvious around the upper rim; the plain underbowl chamfer is concave; raised on an octagonal pedestal base decorated with window tracery, and a splaying lower base, also octagonal. The font cover appears mdern. The whole is raised on an octagonal plinth with kneeling stone at the back. [NB: we have no information on the font of the 13th-century(?) church here].