Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne, no. 1845. 7

Found July 1833 '...In digging the foundations of a house belonging to Mr John Bulmer in a field called 'Cross Close' at a distance of about 135 yards from the present church-yard and in a south-easterly direction at the depth of three feet and a half and immediately upon the limestone' ((-) 1833, 218). Associated with skeletons lying roughly north-south (ibid). Early accounts agree that flat, unornamented stones, 4 to 5 inches square, were found under the heads of some skeletons, but reports vary for the 1833 group as to whether the ornamental stones were found under ((-) 1833, 218) or over (Haigh 1846, 185) the skulls.

St Hilda

Broken, chipped and worn

The sides and the back are smoothly dressed.

A (broad): The face has a narrow border deeply outlined and is quartered by an outline cross, type F1.

The two lower quadrants are inscribed in runes:

 hild II di❬g❭yþ

This gives the feminine personal name Hildigyth. The insertion of the `g' above the line has apparently been indicated by the use of points between 'i' and 'y', and above 'þ'.

The use of the double 'd' in this name is unusual. The inscription is less carefully cut than on 1, and has none of the elegant manuscript-like serifs.

Mid seventh to mid eighth century

(—) 1833, 219 and fig.; Gage 1836, pl. 52, 1; Kemble 1840, 346, pl. 16, 12; (—) 1844; Haigh 1846, 187 and fig.; Sharp 1851, 26-33, fig. 1; (—) 1855a; Haigh 1858, 19 and fig.; Haigh 1861, 44; Stephens 1866-7, xxvi, 396-7, fig. on 396; Haigh 1875, 366, no. 5, pl. 2, 3; Stephens 1884b, 128 and fig.; Allen and Browne 1885, 352; Sweet 1885, 128; Frank 1888, 43; Pettigrew 1888, 27, fig. on 29; Allen 1889, 208, 211; Hall 1889, 260; Bugge 1891-1903, 118, 243; Boyle 1892, 611; Hodges 1894, 6, fig. on 5; Stephens 1894, 51; Hodgson 1895, 205 and fig.; Viëtor 1895, 18, fig. 11; Chadwick 1901, 83; Collingwood 1903, 223 and fig.; Hodges 1905, 212-13; Hodgkin 1913, 154; Browne 1917, 142; Brown 1918-19, 201, fig. 4, 2; Brown 1921, 65, pl. 6; Peers 1923, 258-9, pl. 49, 2; Friesen 1933, 51, 59; Arntz 1938, 76, 89; Dahl 1938, 9-10; Bæksted 1943, 44; Derolez 1954, 50; Scott 1956, 200-1; Elliott 1959, 71, 81-3, 87, fig. 30; Page 1959, 386, 403; Marquardt 1961, 49-51; Page 1973, 53-4, 104, 136, 141, 143, 158, pl. 2; Cramp and Miket 1982, no. 52

1. The following are general references to the Hartlepool stones: Charlton 1855-7, 70-1; Haigh 1873, 269; Smith and Cheetham 1880, 1979; Stephens 1884a, 189; Allen and Browne 1885, 352; Browne 1886b; 12; Howorth 1914, 47; Peers 1914-15; Clapham 1930, 75; Rivoira 1933, 153; Pfeilstűcker 1936, 127; Kendrick 1938, 110; Henry 1965, 158; Page 1973, 25.