Saxlingham Nethergate nr. Norwich / Saiselingeham / Saisselingeham / Sasilingaham

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes on Saxlingham: "The town is commonly divided into two parts, called Nethergate, and Overgate, or Thorp; the manors were called Netherhall-Verdons, and Overhall or Thorphall, and have been united for some time past; to the former the advowson of Saxlingham-Nethergate belonged, and to the latter that of Saxlingham-Thorp. [...] The church of St. Mary of Saxlingham Nethergate, which stands thus in the Revision: it hath the same patron and rector with Thorp [i.e., Saxlingham Thorpe] [...] The church is 25 yards long, and 6 and an half broad, and hath no isles; the nave and chancel are leaded, and the south porch is tiled, it hath a square tower, and six bells; the parsonage, which is a good and convenient house, joins to the west part of the churchyard. [...] Saxlingham-Thorp is a rectory [...] in 1740, was consolidated to Nethergate." The present font is described in Pevsner & Wilson (1999): " C15. Octagonal. Against the stem four lions, against the bowl also four lions and four demi-figures of angels with shields, on which the emblem of the Trinity, the Instruments of the Passion, and three crowns and three chalices." Noted and illustrated in Knott (2007): "a bulky 15th century font in the East Anglian style, similar to several at churches around here". Octagonal mounted font of the 15th century in the Perpendicular style; the octagonal basin has four sides ornamented with the said emblems [Instruments of the Passion, the Trinity, the See of Ely (three crowns) and the Eucharist (three chalices with Host), alternating with four seated lions; the upper level of the underbowl has an angel head with spread wings at each of the eight angles, some of them re-carved, at least one replaced; there are floral motifs on the lower part of the chamfer; the octagonal-to-square base has a seated lion on each of four sides mounted on a short and plain octagonal lower base, while the spaces between the lions have buttresses in them; quadrangular lower base with chamfered angles. The wooden cover is round, flat and plain; modern.. [NB: a local source [2 July 2010 e-mail from Janice Tostevin to BSI] notes that a 1741 document refers to a faint inscription on the base of the font; this inscription is now totally gone] [NB: we have no information on the font from the 11thC-12thC church here].