Featured: Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2019!

Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2019!

From Carnac to Callanish: Prehistoric Stone Rows, Aubrey Burl

From Carnac to Callanish: Prehistoric Stone Rows, Aubrey Burl

Who's Online

There are currently, 482 guests and 4 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> Hedda Stone - Early Christian Sculptured Stone in England in Cambridgeshire

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 07 June 2017  Page Views: 16267

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Hedda Stone Alternative Name: Headda Stone, Peterborough Cathedral
Country: England County: Cambridgeshire Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Nearest Town: Peterborough
Map Ref: TL194987
Latitude: 52.573023N  Longitude: 0.239585W
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
3

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

hallsifer visited on 28th Nov 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Delightful stone in a stunning cathedral. Had to ask at the informational desk if I could see it due to a flower show but the staff are friendly and all too eager to show it to visitors. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding it apparently, and it's not the only stone of it's age in the church - there's a piece of anglo-saxon knotwork built into one of the columns near another informational sign in the south transept.

Marko visited on 13th May 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Visited again and pleased to report that the gates to the Lady Chapel were open - thus allowing unrestricted access to the Hedda Stone. An information board (elsewhere in the Cathedral) states : 'For centuries the Hedda Stone sat outside and was thought to mark the grave of Abbot Hedda (hence the name) and 83 monks killed by Vikings in 870'

Marko visited on 23rd Oct 2021 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Found it eventualy - but being as access to the Lady Chapel wasn't possible, i was unable to get up close and personal! Had to be viewed through the railings.

Majick123 visited on 20th Sep 2012 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 4.25 Access: 4.75

Hedda Stone
Hedda Stone submitted by Thorgrim : The Hedda Stone in Peterborough Cathedral (Vote or comment on this photo)
The Hedda, or Headda Stone in Peterborough Cathedral is a remarkable and unique example of a Middle-Saxon sculpted stone - perhaps the focus for a shrine, in the form of a ‘house’ with carvings of Christ, the Virgin and 10 other figures (presumably 10 of the 12 apostles). The whole block measures a little more than 1m x 0.75m x 0.35m and has been weathered and worn to varying degrees.

The figures are depicted within an arched colonnade, with 6 figures on each of the long sides of the stone. The ends appear to have been reworked not only removing carved detail but at one end adding a date of 870, considered by Prof. Rosemary Cramp and others to be considerably later than the true date of the sculpture. The ‘roof’ is decorated with four ornamental panels on each slope.

The Headda stone currently sits in the Lady Chapel behind the High Altar in Peterborough Cathedral but is thought likely to have come from the former Anglo-Saxon monastic house that preceded the Norman Cathedral. The stone, in its present position is clearly visible with the side showing Christ, the Virgin and 4 other figures facing out into the chapel; but the other side is very difficult to view as is sits a few centimetres away from curved wrought iron railings at the back of the Lady chapel.

Source: Landscape Research Centre

Page submitted by Thorgrim

Note: 3D modelling the Headda Stone in Peterborough Cathedral, see the comment on our page for details
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Hedda Stone
Hedda Stone submitted by hallsifer : Other side of the Hedda Stone (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hedda Stone
Hedda Stone submitted by hallsifer : One side of the Hedda stone (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:
TL1998 : Cathedral Yard, Peterborough by Derek Harper
by Derek Harper
©2007(licence)
TL1998 : Peterborough: the cathedral from the northeast by Chris Downer
by Chris Downer
©2009(licence)
TL1998 : Peterborough: the cathedral at dusk by Chris Downer
by Chris Downer
©2009(licence)
TL1998 : Peterborough: building north of the cathedral by Chris Downer
by Chris Downer
©2009(licence)
TL1998 : 12, Minster Precinct by N Chadwick
by N Chadwick
©2015(licence)

The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
Please Submit an Image of this site or go out and take one for us!


Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 446m WSW 245° Peterborough Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (TL190985)
 537m WSW 250° Peterborough Museum* Museum (TL189985)
 1.6km SSE 167° Fletton Cross* Ancient Cross (TL198971)
 2.7km W 260° St. Cloud's Well (Longthorpe)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (TL16789815)
 3.3km E 88° Flag Fen Visitors Centre* Museum (TL227989)
 4.4km ESE 106° Must Farm* Ancient Village or Settlement (TL237976)
 4.9km NE 52° Oliver Cromwell's Hill (Eye) Cairn (TF232018)
 5.1km SSW 206° Stone Circle, James' Pond* Modern Stone Circle etc (TL17309405)
 5.4km W 268° Robin Hood and Little John* Standing Stones (TL1395098389)
 8.2km W 264° Water Newton Mill Bowl Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (TL11269770)
 8.4km NE 55° Pode Hole Farm Round Barrow(s) (TF262037)
 8.6km N 359° Borough Fen* Hillfort (TF19080727)
 9.9km NW 315° St Botolph (Helpston) Ancient Cross (TF12200552)
 10.0km WNW 282° Upton Causewayed Enclosure Causewayed Enclosure (TF095005)
 10.5km NNW 340° Northborough Causewayed Enclosure Causewayed Enclosure (TF155085)
 10.6km NNW 328° Etton Causewayed Enclosure* Causewayed Enclosure (TF135075)
 10.6km NNW 326° Maxey Cursus Cursus (TF133074)
 11.3km NW 324° Maxey Henge Henge (TF12600772)
 11.3km NW 324° Maxey Pit Circle A Timber Circle (TF125077)
 11.4km NW 324° Maxey Pit Circle A Timber Circle (TF125078)
 12.2km NW 323° Maxey Cursus Cursus (TF118083)
 12.2km NW 323° Maxey Cursus Cursus (TF11800830)
 12.3km NW 311° Bainton Cursus Cursus (TF099066)
 12.9km W 281° Thornhaugh Henge Henge (TF066008)
 13.1km WNW 300° St John the Baptist (Barnack)* Ancient Cross (TF07930505)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Montiju Coronas Dolmen

Pendeen Cross >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Long Barrows of the Cotswolds, Darvill

Long Barrows of the Cotswolds, Darvill

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Hedda Stone" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Hedda Stone by Marko on Monday, 25 October 2021
(User Info | Send a Message)
Visited Peterborough Cathedral on 23/10/21.

Unable to view The Hedda Stone close up,as access to the Lady Chapel was not allowed (railed off).

The stone has now been moved forward a couple of feet and also rotated,so that both the long (carved) sides are visible (through the railings) from either side of the Lady Chapel.

The side previously 'unseen' is a lot more weathered/eroded than it's other side and would perhaps explain why the eroded side was previously placed in a position where it was harder to view.
[ Reply to This ]

3D modelling the Headda Stone in Peterborough Cathedral by Andy B on Wednesday, 07 June 2017
(User Info | Send a Message)
The Headda stone currently sits in the Lady Chapel behind the High Altar in Peterborough Cathedral but is thought likely to have come from the former Anglo-Saxon monastic house that preceded the Norman Cathedral. The stone, in its present position is clearly visible with the side showing Christ, the Virgin and 4 other figures facing out into the chapel; but the other side is very difficult to view as is sits a few centimetres away from curved wrought iron railings at the back of the Lady chapel.

Creating a visual record of the stone which can both enhance our ability to interpret the eroded sculpture and make it ‘virtually’ available both for researchers and the general public on the internet is particularly challenging. Over the last 15 years the ever increasing power of our computers and related scientific and survey instruments has enabled us to record three dimensional surfaces in ways that could not have been predicted 25 years ago.

The modelling of the Headda stone posed a particular challenge on account of the presence of the railings which extend across the back of the stone, in an area which also has poor lighting. The Headda stone modelling exercise was undertaken for multiple reasons; to test the viability of 3Di to accurately record the form of this sculpture despite the difficult location, to create a resource that could be shared in 3D on the internet, produce an accurate archive that would support and enhance the archives of the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture http://www.ascorpus.ac.uk published and maintained through the University of Durham. Also to contribute to the curation and interpretation of the object by the Dean and Chapter at Peterborough Cathedral.

More at
http://www.landscaperesearchcentre.org/wp/?p=33

The final model and others generated as part of the same research project can be viewed using on the Sketchfab archive site in a folder entitled Soke of Peterborough.
https://sketchfab.com/d.powlesland/collections/soke-of-peterborough

Professor Dominic Powlesland
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.