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<< Our Photo Pages >> Heysham St Peter's Churchyard - Ancient Cross in England in Lancashire

Submitted by LivingRocks on Friday, 01 May 2020  Page Views: 16382

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Heysham St Peter's Churchyard Alternative Name: Heysham 5, Heysham 1
Country: England County: Lancashire Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Heysham
Map Ref: SD41066161
Latitude: 54.047070N  Longitude: 2.901659W
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.
 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.
 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

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Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : The Hog Back tombstone inside St Peters. taken 31/10/2006 They wouldn't let me inside the church when i was there 24/4/2011, so i unearthed these I took in 2006. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Cross and Hogback in Lancashire. The lower part of the decorated shaft of a ninth century high cross is situated close to the gate in the churchyard to the south of St Peter's Church, Heysham. The ‘hogback’ is currently on display within the church of St Peter’s. It is thought to have been found somewhere in the churchyard of St Peter’s between 1807 and 1811. It was purportedly found with a skeleton and a spear. If so, this might be the only northern recumbent stone to be found in association with human burials, although the account is too brief and unreliable to be taken at face value.

The stone is composed of a pale brown Millstone Grit which might have come from the spot itself or from anywhere immediately along the coast to the north as far as Bolton le Sands. It is 205.8cm long, and up to 28cm wide at its centre. At its tallest, it is 53.5cm high. It is worn on its ridge, but it is otherwise in good condition despite its exposure to the elements in the churchyard for many decades. This is a particularly large hogback, and a distinctively slender one as a result. It has small carvings of beasts, mammals and birds, a tree, and humanoid figures in poses which have received various interpretations. Source and more information: Howard MR Williams

The cross shaft is constructed from local red sandstone and stands 0.85m high, it is set in a modern sandstone base and stands 0.85m high. On the south face of the shaft a human figure is depicted, possibly seated, beneath an arch or halo. Beneath this figure there is a panel with interlaced decoration. On the north side of the shaft is shown a gabled building with a doorway and seven windows or recesses. In the uppermost window there is a human figure and in the doorway there is a figure apparently in burial clothing. The sides of the cross shaft are decorated with cabled edging and scrolls.

Inside the church is a Hog Back early medieval stone sculpture, see below for more details of this.

Pastscape includes a number of records for this site:
Remains of St Peter's Church: Monument No. 41442;
Part of an 8th/9th century cross shaft: Monument No. 1535567;
Part of an 11th or 12th century grave cover: Monument No. 1535702;
Part of a possible cross shaft: Monument No. 1535704;
Three stepped socket stone: Monument No. 1535570; and
Another 10th/11th century grave cover: Monument No. 1535577.

The Journal of Antiquities also includes an entry for the hogback - see their page for St Patrick’s Chapel And Rock Graves, Heysham, Lancashire; scroll about half way down their entry for a drawing of the hogback, a description and a list of reference sources for more information.

Note: Howard Williams on "The Monuments Formerly Known As Hogbacks" (!) See the comments on our page for videos and links including Howard's talk - What we don’t know about the Heysham hogback?
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Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : Cross base St Peters heysham taken in Infra Red 24/4/2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : Base of ancient cross with St Peters church in the background. taken 24/4/2011 I coudnt get inside to photograph the hogsback grave, but will put up some I talk about 2006 soon. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : The Hog Back tombstone inside St Peters. taken 31/10/2006. They wouldn't let me inside the church when i was there 24/4/2011, so i unearthed these I took in 2006. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : Base of the cross. 24/4/2011 (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : The Hog Back tombstone inside St Peters. taken 31/10/2006. They wouldn't let me inside the church when i was there 24/4/2011, so i unearthed these I took in 2006.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : The Hog Back tombstone inside St Peters. taken 31/10/2006 They wouldn't let me inside the church when i was there 24/4/2011, so i unearthed these I took in 2006.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : The Hog Back tombstone inside St Peters. taken 31/10/2006 They wouldn't let me inside the church when i was there 24/4/2011, so i unearthed these I took in 2006.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : Base of cross. 24/4/2011

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by rldixon : Cross base. 24/4/2011

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by Sunny100 : A view of St Peter's Church, Heysham, with the Lancashire coast and the Irish Sea beyond. Parts of the church building is of a pre-Conquest date.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by LivingRocks : The north side of the cross shaft. (2 comments)

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by cactus_chris : 20200808--Old Grave, St Peter's Church, Heysham, Lancashire

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by coin : The church at Heysham

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by coin : Another picture of the Heysham Cross.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by coin : The other side of the wonderful cross base at Heysham.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by coin : The wonderfully carved cross at Heysham

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by coin : 17th c cross shaft in the Heysham churchyard.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by AngieLake : The spine of the hog-back stone.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by AngieLake : The north side of the cross shaft at St Peter's churchyard, Heysham. May 2011.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by Sunny100 : Detailed illustration of the hog-back tombstone in St Peter's Church, Heysham. It stands in the S aisle, and dates from the 9th century. Richly decorated with a stag hunting scene from the Norse legend of Sigurd. Notice also the zigzag carving and curious bear-like creatires at either end.

Heysham St Peter's Churchyard
Heysham St Peter's Churchyard submitted by LivingRocks : The south side of the shaft.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 35m ESE 123° St Patrick's Well (Heysham)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD4108961591)
 88m WNW 300° Heysham Rock-Cut tombs* Rock Cut Tomb (SD4098461655)
 359m W 268° Heysham Labyrinth* Carving (SD407616)
 891m SE 142° Church Well (Heysham) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD416609)
 4.3km NE 38° Fartle Barrow* Cairn (SD4380364966)
 5.6km ENE 61° Torrisholme* Round Barrow(s) (SD45966425)
 6.3km E 87° Lancaster Priory Cross* Ancient Cross (SD474619)
 6.5km E 88° Lancaster City Museum* Museum (SD4761161729)
 7.6km E 92° Golgotha Lodge (Williamson Park) Cairn (SD48666121)
 9.3km ENE 70° Halton St Wilfrid's Churchyard* Ancient Cross (SD49916469)
 9.4km NE 49° Bolton Le Sands Early Christian Sculptured Stone (SD48336765)
 9.5km NE 48° St Michael's Well (Lancashire) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD4828567831)
 9.9km ENE 70° The Lancaster Cross* Ancient Cross (SD504649)
 10.0km NE 52° Bolton-le-Sands Barrow* Ring Cairn (SD4901467624)
 11.7km E 85° Askew Heights* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD52726239)
 12.0km N 350° Fairy Stone (Humphrey Head)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SD39157344)
 12.0km NE 41° Hunting Hill* Round Barrow(s) (SD49037065)
 12.5km N 350° Holy Well (Humphrey Head)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD39017391)
 12.5km NE 34° Cote Stones Cairn (SD482719)
 13.3km NNE 30° Ings Point Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SD479730)
 13.3km NNE 32° Badger Hole (Lancashire)* Cave or Rock Shelter (SD48187285)
 13.3km NNE 21° Woodwell* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD4674)
 13.5km NNE 32° Dog Holes* Cave or Rock Shelter (SD48337303)
 13.7km NE 35° Warton Crag* Hillfort (SD492727)
 14.3km SSW 200° Hakon's Mound (Preesall) Cairn (SD3601048224)
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"Heysham St Peter's Churchyard" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Howard Williams: The Monuments Formerly Known As Hogbacks – FKAHs. (!) by Andy B on Friday, 01 May 2020
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Prof. Howard MR Williams writes: On my blog, I’ve repeatedly reviewed my research, plus my public and academic presentations, on Viking-period hogback stones. Indeed, a quick search tells me they have featured in some regard in 63 posts. I’ve even suggested we should replace the term ‘hogback’ with Formerly Known As Hogbacks – FKAHs. (!)
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/meeting-the-fkahs/

In my latest YouTube video, I take you back to the crazy days of 2015 when the fabulous book Early Medieval Stone Monuments: Materiality, Biography, Landscape, was published. Boydell have it on sale at the much reduced price of £25 right now, so grab multiple copies while they’re hot!
https://boydellandbrewer.com/early-medieval-stone-monuments.html

Having reintroduced the entire collection in a recent post and video, I return to review this awesome book, summarising some of the key ideas in the final chapter in a second video. In this, I assert that every scholar and student of the Viking Age should know what a hogback is. The video introduces ‘Hogbacks: the materiality of solid spaces’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhkG-0CH0hE&t=64s


Download a version of Howard's hogback chapter here.
Hogbacks: the materiality of solid spaces - Howard Williams

The hogbacks of northern Britain operated as a commemorative strategy by which elites choreographed dialogues between the living and the dead through an architectural form framed by (sometimes bound and muzzled) beasts. This chapter explores the multiple skeuomorphic citations found within hogbacks’ form and ornamentation and shifts the interpretation of hogbacks away from their current status as ‘Viking colonial monuments’ and instead focuses on their commemorative significance in constituting lordly identities within ‘solid spaces’.

https://www.academia.edu/19979085/Hogbacks_the_materiality_of_solid_spaces

More videos from Howard here
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRD7gIrwOmLN_D4_0RbLtSA/videos

[ Reply to This ]

Video Talk: What we don’t know about the Heysham hogback - Prof Howard M. R. Williams by Andy B on Tuesday, 25 July 2017
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Prof. Howard M. R. Williams writes: On Saturday 15th July, I presented the second of the evening’s talks at the Heysham Viking Festival entitled ‘What we don’t know about the Heysham hogback’. It was a packed church and an exciting event.

In a previous post I’ve discussed the Heysham hogback: a unique stone monument now to be seen in St Peter’s church. My aim was to explain the ongoing debates surrounding this particular monument in the context of broader themes in the study of early medieval stone sculpture.

More, with Prof H's slides here, also with 3D models and videos from Roger Lang
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/what-we-dont-know-about-the-heysham-hogback/

and a video of the talk here, again by Roger Lang:
https://vimeo.com/225900707

[ Reply to This ]

Re: Heysham St Peter's Churchyard by SumDoood on Wednesday, 12 July 2017
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More info about the hogsback here:
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/the-heysham-5-hogback/
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