ON THE PRE-NORMAN SCULPTURED STONES OF DERBYSHIRE. l8l 



formed part of a mural ornament, much as encaustic tiles now do. 

 This theory had for some time been taking shape and consistency 

 from my observation of sculptured fragments, when I became 

 aware of the beautiful mural ornamentation in Britford Church, 

 Salisbury, where square flat stones are fitted in to form a vertical 

 band of ornament, exactly resembling in form the stone I have 

 mentioned as existing at South Church, and, curiously enough, 

 ornamented with exquisite scroll work which might have come 

 off the Bakewell, or Bradbourne, or Weston Cross. I think we 

 may take it as established that in some at least of our pre-Norman 

 churches there was sculptured decoration of this character. The 

 Lombardic and Byzantine influences of the architectural orna- 

 mentation of North Italy could not but have had this effect on 

 minds so apt to enjoy and to develop this style of art, as the 

 minds of the early Anglian and Mercian artists evidently were. 

 The fragments i and 3 on Plate XV. (2 is probably the top of a 

 shaft), and 5 on Plate XIV., may be remains of mural ornamenta- 

 tion which must have greatly beautified the early church of 

 Bakewell. Figs. 3 and 4 of Plate XIII. almost certainly represent 

 a portion of a frieze or string-course, and I can imagine how 

 very effective the introduction of such a string-course would be, 

 five or six feet from the ground inside the church, as in the 

 case of the Norman string-course at Barton-le-Street (Yorks.) 

 The smaller of these fragments well deserves attention in itself. 

 The device of making an interlacing pattern spring from a spiral 

 scroll is very clever. No doubt the interlacements ended in a 

 scroll such as that in which they begin, but faced to the other 

 edge of the frieze, and thus we should have a series of twin scrolls 

 branching out right and left into interlacing belts. It will be seen 

 that where the scroll branches off into bands there is a flaw in 

 the system of " under and over " which is de rigeur in art of 

 this character. I can hardly think that such graceful work has 

 such a flaw ; it is much more likely that I made an incorrect 

 note when I took the rubbing. 



At Ashbourne there are two fragments. One has been known 

 for some time ; it has bold and somewhat unusual interlacement 



