a and b, c. 12 ft above western entrance to church tower; c, in nave

Originally in position over western entrance to porch and composed of three(?) stones, which formed continuous frieze. Piece which abuts north face, a, weathered away; central stone, b, which has a raised cable border (Pl 117, 621), replacement of 1866 restoration. in 1966 restoration, c, which abutted south face of tower and still faintly showed three carved panels (drawn in 1846 and 1893), taken out and placed within church.

St Peter

Very worn

Of c A (long): The remains of four panels subdivided by double cable mouldings can be dimly discerned. Starting from the left: (i) Two creatures(?) (ii) Two figures(?) (iii) A single running animal. (iv) Two possible forms.

Gibb's drawing in Stuart (1867, pl. cxv) seems to receive little support from the present appearance of the string-course, but it is clear that at the time of the church's restoration, after the opening out of the porch in 1866, it was already much decayed. A drawing of the face of the tower before restoration ((—) 1862-8c, fig. 1) shows it cut through by the enlarged window centrally placed in the west front, but it is clearly panelled. The more careful drawing of the detail by Lambert (ibid., fig. 4) shows four panels with animals, or animals and horses. Only the running animal on panel iii is now clear; strangely Lambert does not show the double cable moulding behind it nor the shadow of an upright figure, although such exist. The nearest parallels to these panels in Anglo-Saxon England are the animal friezes and imposts at Hexham. It is possible that such panels had their origins in Gaulish architecture, as for example the animals found on a terracotta brick from Nantes (Hubert, Porcher and Volbach 1969, pl. 59).

Last quarter of seventh century

Longstaffe 1858, 94-5; (—) 1862-8c, figs. 1, 4; Stuart 1867, 65, pl. cxv, 2-3; Allen and Browne 1885, 351; Boyle 1886, 49 and fig., Browne 1886b, 11, pl. 2, 6 and 8; Allen 1889, 197; Boyle 1892, 542; Hodges 1893, 145 and fig.; Brown 1895, 251; Patterson 1901, 76-7, pl. opp. 76, figs. 2-3; Hall 1918-25, 45, 578; Brown 1925, 125-1; Clapham 1930, 39; Rivoira 1933, 144, 151 and fig.; Colgrave 1944-53, 187; Pevsner 1953, 187; Radford 1954b, 211, pl. 32C; Quirk 1961, 32, fig. 5; Fisher 1962, 93, 100-1; Gilbert 1964, 75-6, fig. 4; Taylor and Taylor 1965, 444, fig. 207; Taylor and Taylor 1966, 40-1