Houghton-le-Spring, Church of St. Michael, grave cover

HER Number:
12197

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Houghton-le-Spring, Church of St. Michael, grave cover

Place:
Houghton-le-Spring

Map Sheet:
NZ34NW

Class:
Religious Ritual and Funerary

Site Type: Broad:
Grave Marker

Site Type: Specific:
Grave Slab

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:
C13

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
A small double grave-cover 0.59m x 0.58m x 0.53m thought to commemorate male twins (Boyle suggests that a similar slab at St. Lawrence Church, Pittington, County Durham which is also spilt into two panels commemorates twins). It now lies in the south transept but was in the churchyard in the C19. The upper surface of the stone is divided into two panels, separated by a groove. The panels are plain except for an incised border. The long sides of the stone each have an arcade of pointed arches, and at the head end a pair of cross heads carved in relief. The cross heads are of the round-leaf bracelet form. That on the left is quite conventional. The one on the right is set diagonally and has more pronounced pointed buds {Ryder, 1985, p 99}.

Easting:
3418

Northing:
4985

Grid Reference:
NZ34184985

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Peter F. Ryder, 1985, The Medieval Cross Slab Grave Cover in County Durham, Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland Research Report No. 1, p 99; J.R. Boyle, 1892, Comprehensive Guide to the County of Durham, p. 559