A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



thick at the base, and 9 inches at the ends. The top is much broken, but on 

 one side it appears not to have lost much of its original height. In the centre 

 is a human figure, bare-headed and apparently naked, with arms extended. 

 His right hand is in the mouth of a beast, apparently a lion, and surrounding 

 him are other beasts and reptiles, which appear to be attacking him. The 

 other side has a similar central figure, among beasts, which appear to be in a 

 more quiescent state, and possibly represents Daniel in the den of lions. 



Among the detached fragments are the heads of three crosses. One of 

 these has the interrupted circle connecting the arms. The sides have bosses 

 at the centre, surrounding which are interlaced designs of the normal form 

 used for filling the arms. The ends of the arms have the four-cord plaits. 



Another is of the patee form ; is quite plain, and has the interrupted 

 circle of more pronounced character, extending almost to the extremities of 

 the limbs. 



The third is again of the patee form, plain and much decayed, and 

 without the interrupted circle. 



The three small fragments are not of importance. One has a dog and 

 part of a human hand : another is a fragment from the top of a hog-back ; 

 the last has a cable moulding on one angle. They lie on the sills of the 

 east and west windows of the chapel. 



Sta'wdrop. — In the church are a few small fragments of sculptured stones 

 which have upon them knot-work designs of a late and poor type, much 

 defaced. One of these is in the foundation of the easternmost twelfth 

 century pier on the south side of the nave, and two are to be seen over 

 the north door. 



Stainton-le-Street. — The ancient church was entirely removed and a new 

 one built in 1876. Taken from the walls of the old church were a number 

 of stones with pre-Conquest sculpture upon them. Two of these fragments, 

 both belonging to the same cross, were added to the Durham collection, and 

 are here figured. The designs upon it are of some interest, as amongst them 

 is the figure of a man holding a sword pointing downward, which is 

 double-edged with a groove along the middle of the blade. He appears to 

 wear a helmet with a pointed projection in front. He stands under a semi- 

 circular arch which rests on columns with capitals. The most complete side 

 has a key pattern upon it. Another has a four-cord interlaced design. Perhaps 

 the most interesting detail of this stone is the astragal or bead at the angles, 

 which is divided into representations of small balusters. This occurs on a 

 Roman stone in the crypt at Hexham, and in some stones from St. Wilfrid's 

 Church there.' There are several stones in the churchyard at Stainton and 

 in the rectory garden. One of those in the churchyard is part of a cross- 

 shaft, I foot 3 inches long, i foot 2 inches wide, and i foot thick. The 

 carving has been chiselled away from one side, but the other three have 

 interlaced designs. One of these designs is of frequent occurrence, and appears 

 at five places in Scotland, and at Jarrow, AyclifFe, Billingham, and Hart, and is 

 No. 7 in Mr. Romilly Allen's Analysis.* There is also the rouglily sculptured 

 base of a cross having the socket for insertion of the shaft. In the garden are 

 three portions of cross-shafts which arc partly buried in the ground. Their 



1 A similar design is worked on an altar at Civid.ilc. Cattanco, rf>. cit. 107. 

 • Pree. Soc. Ant. Seer. xvii. 243-26H. 



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