Kirby Bedon No. 1 / Kerkebei / Kirby Bidon / Kirkebei / Kirkeby

There are seven entries for Kirby [Bedon] [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/TG2705/kirby-bedon/] accessed 15 November 2020], one of which reports "2 churches. 0.16 church lands" in it. Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "Kirby, or Kirkeby [...] and Bidon, or Bedon [...] take its name from its churches, is no wonder, there being two here, long before the Confessor's time; for in his survey, they were found to have each of them 10 acres of glebe [...] The church of St. Mary at Kirby-Bedon, was appropriated to the abbey of Langleye [...] The church stood east of St. Andrew's, their churchyards being parted by the road only; it is now in ruins; it had a south porch, nave, and chancel, the steeple is standing, and is round, and had two large bells, which were lately taken down, and placed in St. Andrew's church." Blomefield (ibid.) names "William old Barlick of Saxlingham" as first recorded vicar of St. Mary's, in 1308, and "John de Cressingham", who resigned in 1318, as first recorded rector. Wilson's Imperial Gazetter of 1870-1872) reports: "St. Mary's church is now an ivy clad ruin." The present font is noted in Pevsner & Wilson (1999): "Octagonal, panelled stem with trefoil niches, bowl with two ogee-headed panels to each side. Early C15." Illustrated in Knott (2008). The base of the basin panels is crenellated; the niches of the stem have tiny pedestals obviously meand to support statues; the lower base is moulded, as is the underbowl. There is an octagonal fitted font cover with floral decoration on the sides. [NB: we have no information on either of the fonts of the two Domesday-time churches here]