Larling / Larlingford / Lerling / Lerlingford / Lirling / Lurling / Lurlinga

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "The Church is dedicated to St. Ethelbert, and is a rectory valued at 10l. 2d. ob. in the King's Books, and pays 1l. 1q. yearly tenths, and 12d. synodals; it hath a rectory-house and glebe belonging to it. [...] The church and chancel are thatched, the tower is square, and hath three bells". Blomfield (ibid.) further notes the first reported rector of this church, "Will. de Lerling, rector, and lord of Lerling and Elveden", in 1280. He further notes that there were two manors here at the time of the Confessor [d. 1066], and the corresponding entries in the Domesday survey, both cited in Blomefield (ibid.), mention neither church nor priest in them. A font here is described in Pevsner & Wilson (1999): "A square early C13 block with chamfered corners." Described in Knott 2006) as a "crudely primitive font." The CRSBI (200*) writes: "The font is described in Pevsner as 'early 13th-century'. Chamfered angles with simple stop-chamfers can be found elsewhere in the county in a 12thc.context, for example on the internal jambs of the W portal of Norwich Cathedral." The Parish site [www.eastharling.com/larling.html] [accessed 10 August 2009] describes the suare basin as "a simple 12th century Norman example". The font appears monolithic, now totally covered in whitewash; the upper volume is square but irregular, one of the sides [not the one against the pillar, as might be expected] vertical and flush with the square base, the others tapering to a mould on the lower basin; the lower volume has chamfered angles; stands on a square plinth agaisnt one of the pillars at the west end of the nave. The wooden cover is square, flat and modern, with a flat cross ornament.