Featured: Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2019!

Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2019!

Random Image


Litsleby

Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

Who's Online

There are currently, 427 guests and 2 members online.

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

Sponsors

<< Text Pages >> Carved stone in Steyning Church - Early Christian Sculptured Stone in England in West Sussex

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 25 May 2022  Page Views: 690

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Carved stone in Steyning Church
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.628 km away from the location you searched for.

County: West Sussex Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
 Nearest Village: Steyning
Map Ref: TQ1791211392
Latitude: 50.889989N  Longitude: 0.324946W
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
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 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.
4 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

Internal Links:
External Links:

The name of this West Sussex town is Saxon and is thought to mean "people of the stone". Another relevant placename within Steyning itself is given to what was a small meadow west of the church. Originally called "Stonegardeyn", it later became known as "Stone Croft" (Bloxam 1864 p.239). One possible candidate for the stone that Steyning was named after was found built into the church. On the 12th of August 1938, a new heating system was installed in the church and the opportunity was taken to raise this stone, which was used as one of the steps in the eastern entrance of the church.

The step was unusual in appearance and the carving shown in the photograph was found on the underside when the stone was lifted Cox 1938 p.707.

The stone is 5'8" tall and varies in width between 1'3" and 1'8". At first glance it appears to be but a grave slab, but it has been pointed out by Cox that the top is weathered but the bottom is not, which would suggest that it has been standing rather than lying on the ground. He also points out that the cross motif near the centre of the stone, the only recognisable christian symbol, is cut deeper than the other symbols. This he says to be a later addition, used to 'Christianise' the otherwise pagan stone. The problem with this, is the cross does not appear to be cut over a previous carving, but on a blank space, though there are signs of a vague circle surrounding the cross. It may be an original carving, a later carving within the older circle, or an ancient carving recut to highlight an existing symbol. One author tells us of a legend that St. Cuthman brought down a pagan stone that the people here were worshipping, but that may be a modern legend derived from the analysis of the placename (Candlin 1985 p.55).

Another possibility was mentioned by Dr. Gideon Mantell, the famous Sussex geologist. In his journal on 25th June 1825, he says of Steyning : "We visited the church, which contains some of the richest Saxon arches I ever beheld. Discovered the 'firestone' towards the North East of the town." (Spokes 1936 p.288). Dr. Mantell was wrong about the Saxon work, the church is Norman, and raises the possibility that the stone pictured is an example of an early grave slab, examples of which have been found at Chithurst Church, which is of a similar date to Steyning Church. (Johnston 1912 p.105). Such stones in the fabric of churches are not unknown, but it is still unclear why such slabs were treated in this manner. Was it pragmatism because of a lack of decent building stone, or was the stone really ancient and therefore of little importance to the populace? (E.A.M. 1939 p.141).

Source (with reference details) http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/stones.html#sites12
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


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

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
TQ1711 : Stained glass window, St. Andrew's, Steyning by nick macneill
by nick macneill
©2013(licence)
TQ1711 : Steyning: church of St Andrew and St Cuthman by Christopher Hilton
by Christopher Hilton
©2015(licence)
TQ1711 : Steyning: The Church of St Andrew and St Cuthman by Michael Garlick
by Michael Garlick
©2015(licence)
TQ1711 : Steyning: The Church of St Andrew and St Cuthman by Michael Garlick
by Michael Garlick
©2015(licence)
TQ1711 : Steyning, St. Andrew and St. Cuthman Church: South chapel window (1982) by Michael Garlick
by Michael Garlick
©2019(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
 1.7km SW 232° Steyning Round Hill Cross Dyke Misc. Earthwork (TQ16581031)
 3.7km W 277° Chanctonbury Hill Bowl Barrow 6* Round Barrow(s) (TQ14231174)
 3.7km W 278° Chanctonbury Hill Bowl Barrow 5* Round Barrow(s) (TQ14211180)
 3.9km W 280° Chanctonbury Hill Saucer Barrows 2-4* Barrow Cemetery (TQ14031200)
 4.1km WNW 281° Chanctonbury Ring* Hillfort (TQ139121)
 4.2km W 280° Chanctonbury Hill Bowl Barrow 1* Round Barrow(s) (TQ13731202)
 4.5km W 280° Chanctonbury Hill Cross Dyke* Misc. Earthwork (TQ13491205)
 4.6km S 189° Titch Hill Farm Cross Dyke Misc. Earthwork (TQ17310687)
 4.9km SSE 165° Our Lady's Well (Lancing) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (TQ193067)
 5.2km SW 231° Cissbury Ring* Hillfort (TQ13910803)
 5.5km E 95° Edburton Hill Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (TQ23381100)
 5.9km E 95° Edburton Hill Motte and Bailey* Artificial Mound (TQ23771102)
 5.9km ESE 123° Thundersbarrow Hill Hillfort (TQ229083)
 6.0km SE 125° Thunders Barrow Field System Misc. Earthwork (TQ229081)
 6.0km ESE 123° Thunders Barrow Misc. Earthwork (TQ230082)
 6.3km ESE 113° Tenant Hill Tumulus Round Barrow(s) (TQ238090)
 6.8km ESE 107° Tenant Hill Fields System Misc. Earthwork (TQ245095)
 6.9km E 96° Fulking Hill Tumulus 1* Round Barrow(s) (TQ248108)
 7.0km ESE 102° Fulking Hill Tumulus 2 Round Barrow(s) (TQ24771011)
 7.2km WSW 245° Church Hill Bowl Barrow Round Barrow(s) (TQ11430826)
 7.2km WSW 246° Church Hill Flint Mines Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (TQ114083)
 7.3km WSW 255° Muntham Court Iron Age/Romano British Settlement/Shrine/Well Ancient Village or Settlement (TQ109094)
 7.4km ESE 102° Adder Bottom Tumulus Round Barrow(s) (TQ252100)
 7.4km SE 128° Rest And Be Thankful Marker Stone (TQ239070)
 8.0km E 93° Devil's Dyke (West Sussex)* Hillfort (TQ2597311088)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Stones around Falmer Village Pump

St. Cuthman's Stone >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Stone Journals - journeys to the mysterious standing stones of Europe by Patrick Ford

 Stone Journals - journeys to the mysterious standing stones of Europe by Patrick Ford

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Carved stone in Steyning Church" | Login/Create an Account | 0 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
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.