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PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 
SOCIETY or ANTIQUARIES OF 
LONDON. 
ME Rev. William Gibfon has laid 
befor’ bis iearned ody, fome ** Ob- 
fe. vations on the remains « fr a ftone crois, 
or pillar, at Hen fy, in ‘the ‘county of 
Norfolk, with conjectures x fpeciing its 
ancient defignation and uie.”’ The bafe 
of this ftone is about 2 feet 6 inches by 
2 fee: 3 inches, and the greatet height of 
the broken fhaft is 2 fee: be ; on a 
fides aie cut (not very rude:y, and 1 
pretty boid relief) the fymbols of the nie 
golpels. Each of the {paces containing 
thefe fymbols ts a iquare of nine inches. 
The thaft contifts of one entire ftone, let 
into a focket hollowed out of the bate, 
which is alfo one folid block, from each 
of the corners of which a triangular piece 
is cut to the depth of about three inches. 
Its firuation is about a quarter of a mile 
fouth of tbe parifh church of Hemfby. 
’ It was cufiomary betore the R:form- 
ation, to fet up crofics near the highways 
which Jed to churches; but there are no 
means of afcertaming whether this pillar 
was ever (urmounted by acrofs. It is 
alfo known, that both pillars and crofles 
were, in thote ages, placed occafionally in 
the neighbourhood of churches, to mark 
the boundaries of thofe Deere {paces 
in which fugitives, whether for debt or 
crime, were fure to find protection. Of 
fuch fpaces, all confecrated churches were 
pofiefled; which having been granted 
to them in conformity with the corruption 
of the pagan practices, rather than the 
purer precepts of the Mofaic law, fir by 
Chriftian emperors in foreign coustries, 
and in this country by Chrittian kings, 
were afterwards, by Bonitace the Pitrh 
and his fucceffors in the papal chair, fully 
eftablifhed and confirmed. © 
‘ In iis perfect ftate, then, this might be 
one of the crofles sheGad to excite the de- 
votion of the paflenger; or it might have 
a more extenfive defion ation, viz. ‘to mark 
the jim:t of the fanétuary, or privileged 
{pace of refuge appertaining ro the church 
of Hemfby, mwands the fouth. 
This matilated memorial of other times. 
and manvers, whether it was intended as 
an incen ive to devotion, or as a token of 
protecticn to the tugiive offender, having 
been conttructed for public ule, Rood con- 
f{picuous to the view, and probably i in the 
open fields. It is ‘now, however, net 
without (ome difficulty to be difcovered, 
being almoft hidden from the traveller by 
thy hedge rows, and an overfhadowings 
tree. To thele circumftances it is pro. 
bably much indebted for the pre‘ervation 
of its fymbolical ornane:ts, which, con- 
fidering the many years which muft have 
elapfed fince it was firft fet up, have fuf- 
fered very litiie from tne attacks of time 
and weather; nene of the eee bemg 
materially defaced except the head of the 
iion on its eaitern fide, which, before the 
encioiure took place, was certainly the 
moft expofed to the tarp winds, and cor- 
roding vapours of the fea. 
The four fides of the octagonal font of 
the church of Hemiby, exhibit the fame 
evangelical emblems, in the fame order 
and alpect with thofe on the fhaft or pillar, 
pointing out an evident and reciprocal 
connection between the two. At the dif 
tance of about twenty-four paces north 
from the corner of the chancel, remains 
the vacant baie of another crofs, or piilar, 
nearly of the fame fize and fhape with the 
bafe of that above-mentioned, being fitu- 
ated within a few paces of the high-road, 
but within the precingts of the pre(eag 
church-yard. Tt does not appear, that 
the four fides of the fhaft inferted into it 
(fuppofing it to have been a {quare like 
the former) were oppofed, like them, to 
the cardinal points; but one of hem, 
turning towards the north-eaft, mait have 
fronted what now is, and probably always 
has been, the entrance into the church. 
yard. Whatever might be the thape of 
the fhaft belonging to this bafe (afluming 
that it was furmounted bya crofs) it pro 
bably was fo turned, in order to prefent a 
full view of the crofs towards that point 
of entrance. ‘Thefe two crofies or pillars, 
were therefore probably fet up to mark 
the extremities towards the north and 
fouth of the janctuary, or privileged fpace 
of refuge appropriated to the church of 
Hemiby. 
Towards the weft, and the eaft, are 
other ftones of the fame kind, io that it ts 
prefumed, that the four points were the 
extremities of the fan@tuary towards the 
fouth, north, weit, and ealt, three of them 
havine, toa certainty, been diftinguified 
by: the ereétion of an expenfive cro's, or 
pillar; and the fourth exhibiting traces of 
fumething having been placed upon it, 
probably “of the fame fort, and witha like 
defign. 
Should it be faid, that thefe crofics were 
fet up, as ufual, only to excite devotion in - 
eae the earcoy it would be 
see 
