Scottow / Scotau / Scothowe / Scotohou / Scotohu / Scottowe

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "Scothowe Manor [h]ad the moiety of the advowson belonging to it, and the lords always presented a rector to the mediety of the church, till 1231 [...] but a new suit arose about the advowson of the (mediety) of the church, which belonged to this manor in Henry the First's time [i.e., 1100-1135] [...] The Church is dedicated to all the Saints". Blomefield (ibid.) notes that there were two rectors here anciently, "Michael de Ringesfield, and R. de Windestone, were rectors of the two medieties, which were perpetually united at their deaths, and so it became one rectory", this around the year 1231, the next recorded rector, in 1266, was named "Thomas". There is an indirect mention of the font in this church in the mid-15th century: "In 1469, William Hynde, buried by the font, gave a mass-book of 10l. value, and a pair of gilt candlesticks of 5 marks value; he founded a priest here to sing for him, his father and mother, Laurence and William Gerard, and Henry Hynde, and purchased land of Robert Etmham, Esq. to find a priest in Little Hautbois church, to sing and pray for them once a week." There is no information on the date of that font in Blomefield (ibid.), but a church is mentioned in Domesday (fol. 196): "Ecclesie xiv. acre", quite possibly one that had existed in pre-Conquest times when Scottow belonged to "Ulfwin or Alfwin, a Saxon nobleman". [NB: we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church]. The present font is described in Pevsner & Wilson (1997): "Of the octagonal Purbeck type of the C13, but probably a copy". Illustrated in Knott (2005). The tapering octagonal basin is raised on a broad centre shaft and eight outer colonnettes, and is raised on a modern octagonal lower base and plinth. The cover is described in in the same source: "C18. A baluster and four dolphins, a curious conceit." [NB: we have no information on the original font of the original church here].