East Raynham / East Rainham / Great Raineham / Great Reinham / Raineham / Rainham Magna / Reineham / Remeham

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes about "RAINEHAM, Or Reineham, as it is wrote in the book of Domesday", in which, "part of the town now called East Rainham, and made up that parish, or lordship, as I take it, called now Rainham-Magna [...] South Rainham was then a beruite, that is, a less manor, and depending on this"; a third part was West Reinham. Blomefield (ibid.): "In this town were 3 churches, of which this was the chief, called also East-Rainham, and is a rectory valued, in the reign of King Edward I. [i.e., 1272-1307] at 20 marks], and he further reports on a dispute related to the advowson ca. 1288; the church building is thus described : "It consists of a nave, with two isles, and a chancel covered with lead, and has a four-square tower, and four bells". Blomefield (ibid.) names "John" as first recoded rector, in 1227. The present font is described in Pevsner & Wilson (1999): "C15, octagonal, with traceried stem and roses etc. in the bowl panels. Traces of paint." Octagonal basin with floral motifs (four-petal rosettes, Tudor rose) in cusped panels on the sides, graded underbowl chamfer; cinquefoil-headed panels with cusped square windows below on the stem sides; splayed lower base and plinth, both octagonal as well. [NB: we have no information on the font from the original church of ca. 1227 here].