Ryton, Holy Cross Church, medieval grave slabs

HER Number:
12207

District:
Gateshead

Site Name:
Ryton, Holy Cross Church, medieval grave slabs

Place:
Ryton

Map Sheet:
NZ16SE

Class:
Religious Ritual and Funerary

Site Type: Broad:
Grave Marker

Site Type: Specific:
Grave Slab

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:
C12-C13

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
1) A small slab of coarse brown sandstone 0.7m x 0.19m x 0.14m. Its left edge and base have been broken away. The slab now lies on the internal sill of the easternmost window in the south wall of the south aisle. It has an incised cross shaft rising from a stepped base and terminating in a ring with a sunken disc at its centre, overlying a shield. On the right side of the shaft is a sword. It is not clear if the slab is missing an upper section with a cross head. Not dateable. 2) A headstone of fine-grained sandstone, 0.30m x 0.33m, broken into two pieces but repaired. This stone lies on the internal sill of the central window in the south wall of the south aisle. It is referred to in a note accompanying C.C. Hodges' 1883 sketch as being fixed onto a later gravestone, and placed in the south porch. The stone is 0.10m thick and bears an attractive bracelet-type cross with trefoil terminals and cross bands, carved in high relief on each face. Decorated with incised line decoration. Mid C13. 3) In 1883 another stone lay in the footpath to the south chancel, but cannot now be located. It may have weathered beyond recognition or have been turned over. C.C. Hodges drew the upper 0.9m of the slab, which was 0.57m wide. It had an incised design of a round-leaf bracelet cross within a circle. At the head of the cross was a cross band. Late C12 or early C13.

Easting:
1515

Northing:
6483

Grid Reference:
NZ15156483

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 110-111