Morden nr. London / Mordon / Mordone / Mordune

There is an entry for this Morden [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/TQ2567/morden/] [accessed 21 March 2016], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Lysons (1792) writes: "The church, which is dedicated to St. Lawrence, is built of brick, and consists of a nave and chancel, which are of the same height, and separated only by a raised step in the floor. At the west end is a low tower. The present structure was erected about the year 1636. The windows, which are of stone, and of Gothic architecture, appear to have belonged to the old church. The font nearly resembles that at Mitcham, but the workmanship is not so rich." Allen (1831) notes: "The font nearly resembles that at Mitcham, but the workmanship is not so rich." The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction (vol. 2, no. 19, 9 November 1844: 301) reports: "a new and elegant stone font, of an octagonal form, with quatre [sic] ornaments, sunk in the panel, supported by a pedestal, The font was executed by Mr. Legran, a pupil of Chantrey's." Brayley (1850) reports also a modern font described much as in The Mirror... above, with quatrefoil decoration, and gives the artist's name as "Mr. James Legrew". The Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 4, 1912) notes: "The advowson of the church belonged with the manor to the Abbot and convent of Westminster. In 1283 the abbey attempted the appropriation of the church, but did not complete it until 1300. [...] The church was entirely rebuilt in the year 1636 [...] The font is modern." [NB: Lysons [cf. supra] does not give a date for the font, but his comparison with the one at nearby Mitcham would indicate that it was late-Medieval; we have no information on the whereabouts of that font, or of its predecessor, the original font of the medieval church here]