1 66 ON THE PRE-NORMAN SCULPTURED STONES OF DERBYSHIRE. 



When the stone is looked at the other way up, it is found that these 

 are the twelve feet of six men. The stone has been originally 

 a circular but slightly oval pillar, beautifully sculptured in tiers 

 of subjects, of which only this one tier bearing the dragons 

 and birds, and the feet and ankles of the tier of men which 

 came next above, have been preserved. There is a circular 

 column in the churchyard of Masham (Yorks.), in which three 

 tiers are preserved, the lowest tier having quadrupeds in an 

 arcade ; here, as on the Wilne font, the fore paw is raised in 

 the attitude of supplication or submission. At Wilne each 

 pillar breaks out at the top into a disguised cross. 



From the old church of St. Alkmund, Derby, fragments were 

 rescued which show that that church possessed a cross whose 

 shaft had a rectangular section, and whose sides were 

 ornamented with dragons and other animals almost exactly 

 resembling in manyl of their details the dragons at Wilne ; so 

 much so, that it seems likely that they were designed by the 

 same skilful draughtsman, and cut by the same skilful carver. 

 These fragments are so well shown by Dr. Cox (Vol. iv., pi. v.) 

 that it is unnecessary to give illustrations here. There is an 

 example of a stone with very similar dragons at Desborough 

 (Northants). On one side of the St. Alkmund's shaft are 

 three inter-twining serpents, the fractures being such that no 

 head or tail of any one of the three can be seen. There is a 

 similar design on a stone at Stow Nine Churches (Northants). 

 Another St. Alkmund's stone, which like those already mentioned 

 is in front of the Free Library, has been a four-square massive 

 stone, the front corners of which have been bevelled off so as 

 to make two additional faces, and on all the faces thus formed 

 interlacing work has been cut. The stone as it stands is a 

 very puzzling one, but you find the solution of the puzzle in 

 the church at Wirksworth, where there is a stone almost exactly 

 corresponding in shape, evidently a stand for a font or for 

 some other church purpose ; it has at present, by a mere 

 coincidence, an old font standing on it. Dr. Cox shows two 

 faces of this St. Alkmund's stone (Vol. iv., pi. v.), which he 



