Topcroft No. 3

There are two entries for Topcroft in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TM2692/topcroft/] [accessed 6 February 2014], but neither mentions a church or cleric in it. Blomefield (1807-1810), in addition to his notes related to the parish church of St. Margaret here, writes: "Topcroft-Hall is in the parish of Bedingham, and all christenings and burials belonging to the vicar of that church, time immemorial, and there was a free chapel near to the hall, dedicated to St. Gyles, of which the lords of Topcroft-Hall were patrons", and names the first recorded vicar: "In 1299, John de Gyselyngham admitted, on the presentation of Sir Robert de Tateshale". The important point to note is that there were christenings in it, the beneficiary of which was the vicar of Bedingham, as noted above, and where there were chrsitenings there must have been a font, at least as early as the recorded date of 1299 [cf. supra]. [NB: there is an English Heritage listing for a 16thC house here [Listing NGR: TM2683692029], but we have no information on the chapel or its font, both of which have probably disappeared].