Comberton / Cumbertone

There are three entries for Combertone [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/TL3855/comberton/] [accessed 16 May 2016], none of which mentions cleric or church in it. Paley's Guide (1844) notes: "The font is octagonal, Early-English, of plain but rather interesting design." Described by Gardner-Smith ([ca. 1920?]), former vicar of St. Mary's, who remarks on the damage: "the font, though plain, is interesting. It is of twelfth or thirteenth century date, and the stone has been cracked in driving in the staples by which a lock cover was secured [...] The present cover is good piece of seventeenth century work." Although Gardner-Smith (ibid.) does not mention its actual location in the church, he remarks: "Probably the font has been moved, its present position being most unusual" [NB: whatever the location of the font was at that time, it is now located towards the west end of the south aisle, opposite the south doorway, which is a traditional location for a font]. Kelly's county Directory describes the font in the same terms as Paley. The font and cover are illustrated in the RCHM (Cambridgeshire, 1968), which dates the font to the 13th century and the wooden cover of oak to the 17th. The Victoria County History (Cambridge..., vol. 5: 1973): "A church existed at Comberton before 1100. Picot the sheriff granted it to his foundation of Austin canons, later transferred to Barnwell Priory, and the gift was confirmed by Remigius, bishop of Lincoln, (d. 1092), and by Henry I [i.e., 1100-1135] [...] Nothing survives from before the 13th century"; no font mentioned in the VCH entry.