Mannington / Manictuna

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "The Parish Church is a small pile, built by the Earl of Pembroke, the arms of the family De Valentia being carved in stone over the door; it has no steeple, or bell, the nave and chancel tiled, but now falling much into decay; it had till lately service once a month", and names "John de Watenhull" as first recorded rector here, in 1324. There is no dedication given in Blomefield. [NB: the 'Earl' mentioned above would be William de Valence [aka Valentia] (ca.1225-1296), Earl of Pembroke, or his son Aymer (ca.1265-1324), the two 'De Valence' who held the title, putting the date of this church probably into the 13th century]. White's Gazetteer of 1845 reports: "The [church] has long been a neglected ruin, and its discharged rectory, valued in the King's Book at £6. 13s. 4d., is consolidated with Itteringham." Knott (2005) writes: "all that remains is a well-maintained shell [...] The features are a combination of Early English and Perpendicular, but there is a blocked doorway in the west wall which appears to have been Norman. Was there ever a tower here, I wonder, and was this actually the tower arch rather than a doorway? The ruin itself is completely safe, the flint walls repointed and the internal floor being filled with crunchy gravel. You enter through the south doorway, and inside is a rather wonky font which may or may not have come from here". The 'wonky' font reported in Knott [cf. supra] is located inside the ruins in the part that appears to have been the nave; it consists of an octagonal basin raised on a short octagonal stem and a square lower base; it is totally plain and could be late-medieval, or much later. [NB: we have no information on the font of the original church here].