East Lexham / Leccesham / Lechesam / Lechesham

The Domesday entry for "Leccesham" mentions neither church nor cleric in it, but Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "Wimer, dapifer to the first Earl Warren, gave the church of Lexham East, to the priory of Castleacre, with all the land belonging to the church, the tithe of his manor, and the advowson, before the death of Hubert Bishop of Norwich, in the reign of Henry I. Drogo, son of William Dapifer, his descendant, confirmed of it" [NB: William de Warenne, who died in 1088, is documented as having fought at William's side at Hastings in 1066 -- the donation of this church by "Wimer", the lord's 'dapifer' or chief steward, would put the church in existence by the end of the 11th century, and it is quite likely that the church may have existed at a pre-Conquest date, despite not being mention in Domesday]. Blomefield (ibid.) adds: "this church, which is a rectory, is dedicated to St. Andrew [...] The church is a single pile, covered with lead, the chancel with glazed gutter tile, and has a four-square steeple embattled with brick". The present baptismal font is illustrated in context in Knott (2004). It is probably of the mid-19th century renovation of this originally Anglo-Saxon church, as the tower bears witness to. The font is octagonal with a mixture of floral motifs and tracery on the sides of the basin, and arches on the stem sides. Wooden cover to match. [NB: we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church]