Thetford No. 3 / Deodford / Tedford / Tefford / Tetford / Theford / Sitomagus

INFORMATION

Font ID: 15204THE
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 11th century, Pre-Conquest
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Peter
Font Location in Church: [cf. FontNotes]
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Peter
Church Address: King Street, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 1BL
Site Location: Norfolk, East Anglia, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located 20 km N of Bury St Edmunds
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Norwich
Additional Comments: disappeared font? (the one from the original pre-Conquest church here)
Font Notes:
Martin (1779) reports: "The font is a plain octagon on a shaft"/ Blomefield (1805-1810) notes: "in the Confessor's time, it was appendant to the mother church [which means the church existed prior to the Conquest, between 1033 and 1066] [...] The present building is of freestone and black flint, and by the appearance of it does not seem to exceed the time of Edward III." Blomefield (ibid.) names 'William Newman, priest' as the first recorded rector of this church. [NB: we have no information on the whereabouts of this font]

COORDINATES

UTM: 31U 346825 5809565
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 52.414835, 0.747748
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 52° 24′ 53.41″ N, 0° 44′ 51.89″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: octagonal, mounted
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal

REFERENCES

  • Blomefield, Francis, An essay towards a topographical history of Norfolk, 1805-1810, vol. 2: 59-76 / [www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=78031] [accessed 7 March 2013]
  • Martin, Thomas, The History of the town of Thetford, in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, from the earliest accounts to the present time, London: Printed by and for J. Nichols, 1779, p. 66