Sprowston / Sprotuna / Sprouston / Sprowestuna

There are three entries for Sprowston [variant spelling] in the Domesday surver [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TG2411/sprowston/] [accessed 16 April 2014], but there is no mention of a church or cleric in any of them. Blomfield (1805-1810) writes: "The Church is dedicated to St. Margaret, and was a rectory, [...]; the prior of Norwich had a portion of tithe [...], and after it was appropriated to the said priory, and is now in the dean and chapter of Norwich, and served by a stipendiary curate, at their nomination. [...] Thomas de Blumvyle Bishop of Norwich confirmed to the monks of Norwich, the grant of John de Grey Bishop, of 2 parts of the tithe of Sprouston and Catton" [NB: the Dict. of Nat. Bio. (1885-1900, vol. 23: 189) shows De Grey died in 1214, which puts the date of the church here prior to that date]. The first two recorded rectors of Sprowston church are given in Blomefield (ibid.): "Hugh de Fakeham, rector sans date. Reginald, occurs rector about 1260." Thomas (1846) writes: "In the nave, with the redeeming exception of a most beautiful font, one meets little worthy of note. [...] You are spared describing the font, its brown holland wrapper reminding of nothing so much as the poet Scroggins' head-gear -- 'A cap by night, a stocking all the day;' spared the task by this fine engraving of it in Van Voorst's series, (handing the book) article Holy Trinity, Coventry." Thomas (ibid.) adds: "The original font, at west end of north aisle, was so mutilated as to contain scarcely more than two inches depth of fluid, the stem and rim of its bowl mainly composed of brick and mortar. To avoid desecration the relics were buried beneath the pavement." The later font is illustrated in Knott (2009). The present baptismal font in this church is a mixed modern rendering of a late-medieval font design: octagonal basin with tracery and shileds on the sides, decorated underbowl and wide pedestal base with tracery and buttresses; on two-step plinth. Evelyn Simak (2010) [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2054589] [accessed 16 April 2014] reports the unearthing of the buried medieval font: "C14 font. This broken font bowl was discovered recently when the Victorian font was lowered: it was buried underneath it and is now on display in the church." The object is the remains of an octagonal basin with a round inner well, a large central drain in it; there are no visible traces of carving on it now. The reference in Simak [cf. supra] to the 'lowering' of the Victorian font has to do with the removal of one of the steps of the plinth; it had been originally mounted on two until 2009 but one was removed by the time of her visit in September 2010. [NB: we have no information on the font of the earlier church here]. [NB: the other church in Sprowston, the late-19th century church of St. Cuthbert, received the font originally from nearby Kemptstone [cf. Index entry for Kempstone No. 1]]