<< Our Photo Pages >> The Elsdon Stone - Early Christian Sculptured Stone in England in Northumberland

Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 27 February 2019  Page Views: 2536

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: The Elsdon Stone Alternative Name: St Cuthbert's Church (Elsdon)
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.191 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Northumberland Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Nearest Town: Rothbury  Nearest Village: Elsdon
Map Ref: NY9364793281
Latitude: 55.233696N  Longitude: 2.101436W
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
 3 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
 5

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Anne T visited on 24th Feb 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 St Cuthberts, Elsdon (The Elsdon Stone): We stopped off at the very friendly and informal tea shop for tea (one tea bag in a pot for 2) and an ‘omelette sandwich’ (was supposed to be fried egg, and it took me a while to recover from the taste). We’ve been to the church before, but not with the HE and Pastscape information with us. Spotted the unique Roman soldier’s tombstone (it lists his entire military career), the medieval cross slabs and the horse skulls. We thought we’d seen everything in this church on a previous visit on 25th August 2013, but indeed missed a great deal. Whilst I photographed most of what we took in today, at the time I wasn’t so interested in the medieval grave slabs and the Elsdon Stone (after all, it was only Roman, wasn’t it?!). I really wished I’d thought to take Peter Ryder’s articles on the medieval grave slabs, but until we got to the village, had no real thought of going back to the church. I was really saddened to see how much the inside of the church has deteriorated since our visit four and a half years ago. There is so much black mould and dust around, especially towards the western end of the church. I also hadn’t realised how complicated the stone work around the junction of the nave and the transept was – all small spaces and intricate junctions. I could have spent all afternoon the churchyard photographing all the amazing grave markers.

Gremlyn16 have visited here

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : This is the unique Elsdon Stone, which is sited against the north wall of the nave, opposite the south door into the church. The inscription is barely visible unless the light catches it. There is a notice above with an explanation of the stone with a brief history of the Roman officer, and what remains of the legible inscription, in Latin. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Elsdon, Northumberland, is known as the old capital of Redesdale. Today it is a small village clustered around a village green, with pub, St Cuthbert's church, coffee shop and the remains of a motte and bailey castle and tower house (bastle). St Cuthbert's contains the Elsdon Stone, said to be unique in Britain, as it is the only tombstone which sets out the entire military career of a Roman officer. The church also contains some fine medieval cross and grave slabs.

The Elsdon stone is to be found set against the north wall of the church, immediately opposite the south door. This stone measures 0.8m wide by 0.9m high. A sign above the stone sets out the legible part of the inscription, which translates as: "To the divine Manes, of the prefect of the first cohort of the Augustan of the Lusitani, also of the second cohort of the Breuci, subcurator of the Flaminian Way and of the distribution of maintenance subcurator of public works. Julia Lucilla had this erected to her husband well deserving. He lived forty-eight years six months and five days." (Thanks to Undiscovered Scotland for the translation.)

The church also contains some fine medieval cross and grave slabs, some built into its fabric as sills and lintels, others propped up against the north wall of the north transept. There is also a cabinet with the skulls of three horses, discovered inside the church spire in 1977. The notice on the cabinet suggests the reason for building the skulls into the turret remains a mystery, but it has been suggested that it may be found in the survival of some old pagan custom in which sacrificing a horse was seen as an act of sanctification".

Its churchyard is also said to be one of the finest in the country, with many listed gravestones and two medieval stone coffins propped against the external west wall.

The tombstone is recorded as Pastscape Monument No. 19730 and the church listed as Historic England List ID 1155072. The Archaeological Assessment for St Cuthbert's can be downloaded from Newcastle Diocese's Archaeological Assessment for Elsdon (St Cuthbert).

The name Elsdon is derived from the Old English for Elli's Valley.
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The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : The slab on the left hand side of the photos is Peter Ryder's Elsdon 7, a complete slab on fine grained yellow sandstone now standing against the north wall of the north transept. It shows the "relief design of a cross with crosslet head, multi-stepped calvary base, sword on right of shaft. Fourteenth or fifteenth century". The slab on its right hand side (with the apart face (?) top right hand co... (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : One of two very fine medieval coffins, complete with hole in the base to let body fluids out, propped against the exterior western wall of the church. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : These two slabs, which form the inner lintel over the south door are Peter Ryder's Elsdon 1 and 2. Elsdon 1 has the remainder of a design incised with stepped calvary base and pair on shears on the left of the shaft; dated to the 12th or 13th century. Elsdon 2 is a very worn slab of brown sandstone, the only part of the carving with is left is one transverse arm of the cross head with a fleur de l... (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : These are the three horse skulls found in the turret of the church in 1877, now displayed in a small wooden cupboard against the northern end of the west wall. Said to be a remnant of a pagan ceremony, but no-one really knows why they were placed here. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : This is Peter Ryder's Elsdon 4, the "upper part of a yellowish sandstone set in (the eastern wall of the south transept); the stone carries some reddening, as if burnt. Similar design to Elsdon 3, expect that the cross head, with sunken panels between the arms, is enclosed in an incised circle, and the sword is placed on the left of the cross shaft. Twelfth century?"

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : This is Peter Ryder's Elsdon 3, built into the eastern wall of the south transept. It is described as a "complete small slab of fawn sandstone … plain Greek cross with sunk circle around head, 2-step calvary base, sword on right of shaft. The design here is so simple as to be little help in dating; it might be as early as the twelfth century, although not necessarily so".

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : This is Peter Ryder's Elsdon 8, propped against the eastern end of the north wall of the north transept. It shows the "relief design of a Greek cross, with head deliberately tooled away, rising from arched base. Sword on left of the shaft, shield on the right, with some sort of animal (deer?) above. Fourteenth or fifteenth century".

The Elsdon Stone
The Elsdon Stone submitted by Anne T : This is Peter Ryder's Elsdon 11, a brown sandstone slab, roughly finished and "now forming the internal sill of the low-side window on the south side of the chancel. The only visible piece of carving is an incised pair of shears; date uncertain".

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