Introduction

In 1875, during the rebuilding of the Church of Sts. Mary and Helen, Neston, Cheshire, four fragments of carved stones were discovered and briefly published (Smith 1875, pp. 88-93). In a pioneering article on the group, J. D. Bu’Lock (1959) recognised them as examples of circle-headed crosses of Viking date (10 th to 11th centuries) intended for grave markers.

Bu’Lock’s original article and later work (Bailey 1980, pp. 177-180) examined the wider context of the group and established that there was a cluster of such crosses around the Irish Sea coast, from Anglesey to the Solway Firth in Cumbria with an outlier in Yorkshire and related examples in Cornwall. A fifth fragment, originally built into a window in the belfry at Neston perhaps in the 14th or 15th century, was removed in 1986 and proved to be the largest and most iconographically complex example of the group (White 1988, pp. 49-51).

The stones in the six figures described below were published recently in the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Sculpture (Bailey 2010, pp. 85-90). The publication firmly placed the group in its wider context artistically and culturally, so detailed descriptions of the pieces are not required here. The following brief outline discussion relies on the numbering of the cross fragments and their carved faces established by Bailey.

Stone 1 comes from the base of a tapering shaft. Face A is carved with a bearded priest in full vestments holding up a chalice in one hand while the other presumably held the host, although the hand is missing (Figure 12.1). A maniple dangles from this wrist. On the reverse (Face C) is an irregular

FIGURE 12.1 Stone 1, Face A. (Photo courtesy of author.)

Interlace based on the Stafford knot. The narrow side panels (Faces B and D) carry ring-encircled twist and a step pattern—the same patterns seen on the other principal fragments.

Stone 2 comes from the top of a tapering shaft and incorporates a segment of the circle head. Face A carries a winged figure, presumably an angel, lying horizontally and dressed in a pleated kirtle (Figure 12.2). On Face C are two figures apparently fighting. They appear to be armed with daggers and one pulls the other’s hair (Figure 12.3). The narrow sides carry the same patterns as Stone 1. Face B and Face D (Figure 12.4) are described below in the Critical Analysis section.

Stone 3 is the largest and comprises the majority of a tapering shaft including its plain dressed foot. Both broad faces carry figural carving and the narrow sides are decorated in the same patterns as the other stones. Face A is dominated by a stag (Figure 12.5). At its throat is an attacking hound, while behind and above it is a figure in a tunic stretching to his knees and wielding a spear that appears to pass through the stag’s body to emerge under it, the tip of the spear piercing the ground line below.

FIGURE 12.2 Stone 2, Face A. (Photo courtesy of author.)

FIGURE 12.3 Stone 2, Face C. (Photo courtesy of author.)

(a)  (b)

FIGURE 12.4  (a) Stone 2, Face D. (b) Stone 2, Face B. (Photos courtesy of author.)

FIGURE 12.5 Stone 3, Face A. (Photo courtesy of author.)

Above and to the right of this group are two figures with missing heads, on the left a female with a pigtail wearing a pleated skirt and broad triangular sleeves. She apparently embraces a man on the right wearing a triangular kirtle. On Face C are two scenes separated by a ground line into two panels (Figure 12.6). The lower one shows two horsemen, each carrying a couched lance. They are riding toward each other with their lance heads crossing. The men have round heads and long tunics, perhaps representing chain mail shirts. The upper panel has two quadrupeds, one chasing the other which is looking back at it.

Stone 4 represents the base of another tapering shaft including the substantial dressed foot of the stone. The carved panel on Face A consists of a six-strand plait while Face C shows fragmentary remains of an unidentified knotwork. Face D is lost while Face B shows the normal step pattern.

Stone 5 is the only fragment derived from a cross head and its interpretation relies on better preserved examples from others in the Cheshire group, such as a cross head from Hilbre Island (Bailey 2010, p. 81, illustrations 172-175) or the group at St John’s Chester (ibid. pp. 63-64; illustrations 81-84). The stone has been dressed to form a rectangular block, clearly of a size and shape to be used as an ashlar. Face A has a triquetra knot and possibly traces of a second, a design repeated on Face C. Face B indicates traces of a step pattern while Face D has a two-strand interlace. These designs are probably the same as the border decorations in the rest of the group, as is the cable border seen on all the edges of the carved fragments.

FIGURE 12.6 Stone 3, Face C. (Photo courtesy of author.)