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<< Our Photo Pages >> Grosvenor Museum - Museum in England in Cheshire

Submitted by vicky on Wednesday, 12 February 2014  Page Views: 13057

MuseumsSite Name: Grosvenor Museum Alternative Name: Overchurch Rune Stone, Runic Stone, Biddan Stone
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.214 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Cheshire Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Chester
Map Ref: SJ40466595  Landranger Map Number: 117
Latitude: 53.187294N  Longitude: 2.892496W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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kthdsn visited on 11th Oct 2014 - their rating: Amb: 3 Access: 5

TimPrevett have visited here

Grosvenor Museum
Grosvenor Museum submitted by dodomad : A 3D reconstruction of the Overchurch runic stone. About a quarter of the stone survives, with the original stone about 1.2 metres long by about 60cm wide. The original is in Grosvenor Museum Image Credit: Big Heritage Big Heritage are incredibly proud to share with you a 3D reconstruction of the Overchurch Runic Stone – arguably the most important artefact from Wirral’s past. A full... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Museum in Cheshire with a small collection of prehistoric finds from Cheshire and a large collection of Roman artefacts

Address: 27 Grosvenor Street, CH1 2DD 
Phone: 01244 402008 
Opening Hours: 10.30 am - 5.00 pm Mon to Sat, 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm Sun, Closed 1st Jan, Good Fri and 24th-26th Dec
Admission: Free
Visit their web site

Note: 3D scan and reconstruction brings the Overchurch Runic Stone to life
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Grosvenor Museum
Grosvenor Museum submitted by TimPrevett : The Grosvenor Museum in Chester; as per Vicky's comment, do not expect lots of prehistory here. If you come solely with that interest, you will be disappointed. The Roman collection is, not surprisingly, considerable; the period house is also fascinating, and some natural history is informative. It provided us with a good afternoon's family visit. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SJ4065 : The Grosvenor Museum by Stephen Rogerson
by Stephen Rogerson
©2012(licence)
SJ4065 : Grosvenor Museum, Grosvenor Street, Chester by Stephen Richards
by Stephen Richards
©2020(licence)
SJ4065 : 29 Grosvenor Street, Chester by Stephen Richards
by Stephen Richards
©2020(licence)
SJ4065 : The Chester Bells, Grosvenor Street, Chester by Cameraman
by Cameraman
©2011(licence)
SJ4065 : Bench mark on Convivio by John S Turner
by John S Turner
©2009(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 307m WSW 250° Roodee Cross, Chester Race Course* Ancient Cross (SJ4017065847)
 337m N 10° Chester High Cross* Ancient Cross (SJ4052166282)
 341m ENE 69° Roman Garden & Hypocaust (Chester)* Ancient Village or Settlement (SJ4078066070)
 349m NNE 18° Edinburgh Woollen Mill Hypocaust* Museum (SJ4057266281)
 352m N 6° Dewa Roman Experience* Museum (SJ405663)
 361m NE 53° South East Angle Tower of Legionary Fortress* Stone Fort or Dun (SJ4075166165)
 399m SSE 148° Chester Minerva shrine* Ancient Temple (SJ40676561)
 424m ENE 60° Roman Amphitheatre (Chester)* Ancient Palace (SJ4083066160)
 483m ENE 67° St John the Baptist Church, Chester* Ancient Cross (SJ40916613)
 502m ENE 76° The Hermitage (Chester)* Ancient Temple (SJ4095066064)
 853m ENE 72° Billy Hobby's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ4127766202)
 2.1km SSE 165° Heronbridge Roman Strip Settlement Ancient Village or Settlement (SJ410639)
 6.7km NE 51° St Plegmund's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ457701)
 7.5km S 180° Poulton Timber Circle* Ancient Village or Settlement (SJ4033558472)
 8.9km SSW 204° St Peter's Well (Denbighshire) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ36735784)
 9.0km NW 304° Modern Stones at Deeside Industrial Area* Modern Stone Circle etc (SJ330711)
 9.4km NNE 22° St Mary (Thornton Le Moors)* Ancient Cross (SJ44157455)
 9.4km ESE 102° Brookhouse Farm Ancient Village or Settlement (SJ497639)
 9.9km S 176° Knowl Plantation Barrow Cemetery (SJ410561)
 10.2km S 176° Churton* Long Barrow (SJ411558)
 12.1km SW 231° Hope Church Early Medieval Stones* Ancient Cross (SJ310584)
 12.4km SSW 207° The Atropos Altar Stone* Sculptured Stone (SJ34645497)
 12.4km SW 226° Caer Estyn* Hillfort (SJ314574)
 12.6km SW 235° Park in the Past* Museum (SJ301588)
 12.6km NW 311° Hampston's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ3099074309)
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"Grosvenor Museum" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Source of the Overchurch Rune Stone, the demolished church at Overchurch by Andy B on Wednesday, 12 February 2014
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Now lost is the church that gave its name to Overchurch, near Upton. Built almost a mile from the centre of Upton, the church seems to have once been part of a village named Overchurch (‘the church by the shore,’ a name which has inspired further legends concerning Wirral’s changing coastline). Nothing remains of the village now, nor did it in the early nineteenth century when the church (Upton’s parish church) was finally abandoned after over a century of neglect. The church was demolished and later a new parish church erected in Upton itself.

During the demolition of the church, the famous Overchurch Rune Stone, or Biddan Stone, was discovered. This dates from Anglo Saxon times, some time after St Chad converted the area to Christianity, and it commemorates one Aethelmund, for whom the ‘folk’ were asked to offer prayer. One theory links this Aethelmund with the ealdorman of that name who ruled over the Hwicce, under the auspices of the Mercian kings Offa and Coenwulf, and who fell in battle against the men of Wessex in 802.

The churchyard is a circular area like St. Andrews and the church at Woodchurch, which has led some to conclude that it began its existence as a pre-Christian religious site. Rumour has it that modern pagans and witches congregate here at the Summer Solstice. Now entirely overgrown, hidden at the centre of woods near Moreton Spur, nothing remains of the church itself except for a few semi-legible gravestones and a yew tree. It is an eerie spot.

More at Wirral's Mysterious Churches by Gavin Chappell
http://sites.google.com/site/gavindcchappell/local-history-articles/wirral-s-mysterious-churches
[ Reply to This ]

3D scan and reconstruction brings the Overchurch Runic Stone to life by Andy B on Wednesday, 12 February 2014
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Big Heritage are incredibly proud to share with you a 3D reconstruction of the Overchurch Runic Stone – arguably the most important artefact from Wirral’s past. The 9th century stone originally lay in the grounds of Overchurch church (near Upton) and was re-used after its demolition to create nearby Upton Church. When this too was demolished the runic stone was discovered with its inscription still visible – translated as “The people erected a memorial…Pray for Æthelmund.”

About a quarter of the Overchurch runic stone survives, with the original stone about 1.2 metres long by about 60cm wide. It could have been the top of a sarcophagus but it was probably a monumental grave slab. A lot of these stone were found in the Viking period but the Overchurch stone comes from the earlier Anglo-Saxon time period, and is one of only three in Cheshire (of which the Wirral used to be a part of) from this period which means it is incredibly rare.

It is also the only runic inscription from Cheshire, making it an incredibly important artefact, and something that the people of Wirral should be very proud of. A full sized replica is currently in production and will be on show at Big Heritage's latest Pop Up Museum project.

The reconstruction was overseen by Big Heritage’s Joanne Kirton, an expert in pre-conquest sculpture in Cheshire. Joanne worked on the reconstruction of the Neston Crosses on behalf of Grosvenor Museum and reconstructed a Saxon Throne from Bamburgh Castle which was filmed by Channel 4′s Time Team.

The stone is the first example of Big Heritage’s new Digital Outreach division which includes GIS, LIDAR and 3D artwork.

Source, where you can spin and zoom a model of the stone:
http://bigheritage.co.uk/overchurch/


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Re: Grosvenor Museum by Vicky on Monday, 23 February 2004
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Despite the wealth of prehistoric finds from the county only one small find is on display in the Museum (in a glass cabinet in the Video room). The rest of the finds are hidden away in store but can be viewed on the Museum's computers.
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