North aisle, inside

First recorded in 1911, built into ringing chamber of tower, inside (Collingwood 1911a, 298); removed in 1948 by G. Burnett (Crosland and Hayes 1955, 453)

St Andrew

Complete, except for slight chipping and weathering

The cross is a monolith, the head having arms of type A11, with ring, type 1(a). The head is small in relation to the shaft, which has slight entasis.

A (broad): The lower arm of the cross-head is a shallow triangle, tending to a hammer-shape. The perimeter moulding is rolled. The lines of the cross are not perfectly straight. In the centre is a convex boss. The arm-terminals are each filled with a Stafford Knot stemming from a split solid strand around the boss, the upper limb having a pellet filler and a strand across the split stem. The strands are broad and flat. The bevelled ring is worn, recessed from the face of the cross, and carries a crest whose sides have faint remains of incised chevron.

The lowest portion of the shaft is tooled but not decorated. A single long panel is flanked by a plain, flat edge moulding and framed by a marginally thinner flat band. The panel contains a hunt scene. At the base stands a naturalistic stag in profile, with rounded chest, elliptical eye and a pair of huge branching antlers. The tail is small and curled downwards; the feet cloven. The front of the stag is in higher relief than the rear. The legs taper, the neck curves, and the back is straight. Above its rump at the left is a hound, disposed head downwards. It has four legs, small pricked ears, and a short tail identical with the stag's. Above it is a smaller hound, identical except depicted in profile. The upper right-hand quarter of the panel contains a standing human figure pointing a lugged spear downwards with his right hand. His left hand is ready to draw the knife from its horizontal sheath at his belt, the latter details being incised on the figure. The upper member of the panel's frame is broken to accommodate the huntsman's head, though the incised line of his skull cap corresponds with that of the moulding. His arm-pits are drilled; his face has incised arched eye-brows, small pellet eyes, and a beard dug out of the neck. The feet point down to the left. There is a raised strip down the front of the chest.

B (narrow): There is a small panel on the side of the upper arm of the cross-head, which carries a Stafford Knot. The end of the lateral arm carries a closed circuit motif. Both are executed in broad, flat strands.

The edge moulding of the shaft is plain and flat. A single panel contains a closed circuit interlace, consisting of five free rings and long diagonals. The strands are broad and flat.

C (broad): The decoration of the cross-head is virtually identical with that on face A, though more accurately carved; the left-hand arm has a pellet filler missing from its counterpart on face A.

The flat edge moulding of the shaft is of uneven width and flanks an inner plain moulding of similar unevenness which forms a border to a single long panel, whose base is roughly concave. It contains a solitary profile ribbon beast, clumsily executed in an undulating posture. Its oval head hangs on the left, almost filled by a contoured circular eye. The jaws are angular with a gag (or fangs) crossed by a bar with a leaf terminal issuing from the mouth. The torso is of uneven width with a double outline and fettered randomly by discontinuous bands and tail. There is no fore leg, but there is a single hind foot with frond-like toes. Small pellet fillers are used.

D (narrow): There is a noticeable taper on the cross-head. The upper part of the vertical arm carries what may be a bungled version of a closed circuit motif, or a group of six irregular pellets. The end of the lateral arm carries a closed circuit motif, using broad, flat strands.

The shaft has a flat, plain edge moulding, enclosing a single long panel containing four registers of simple pattern F interlace (Carrick Bends), with bar terminals. The strands are again broad and flat.

This complete ring-head cross is typical of Ryedale with its distinctive crest superimposed on the motif (see Chap. 8). Whilst it is similar in form and ornamental design to no. 2, it is carved by a different hand: the cutting adopts a more bevelled corner, the unit of measure differs, and the treatment of the cross-head is distinctive. It is identical with Kirkbymoorside 4 (Ills. 526–30). The ring-head was introduced from the west soon after c. 920 (Bailey 1978, 178) but the Ryedale variant is no slavish copy. Its construction rests on a rectangle with drilled arm-pits, the ring close to the intersection of the cross. The huntsman figure wears the Middleton belt and sheath (nos. 2, 3 and possibly 4), but the more active hunt scene relates more closely to Stonegrave 7 (Ill. 861), and to the 'hart and hound' panel at Ellerburn (no. 5; Ill. 432). (For the iconography, see Chap. 9, Animal Ornament.) The fettered profile animal is rustic by comparison with its immediate local source at Sinnington 4 (Ill. 807) (Lang 1973, 22–3) and derives ultimately from the beast-chains of the York Metropolitan School. The source of this animal ornament may be entirely Insular and the Jellinge-style overtones are hardly recognisable in this very provincial piece. The treatment of the jaws also relates to the local fashion at Sinnington and other Ryedale sites close by, such as Levisham.

Tenth century

Collingwood 1911a, 298–9, fig. on 298; Collingwood 1912a, 126; Brøndsted 1924, 200, 225, fig. 149; Collingwood 1927, 128–9, fig. 139; Dauncey 1941, 123, pl. XVIII, fig. 23; Kendrick 1949, 194, pl. LXIV; Shetelig 1954, 135–6, fig. 47; Crosland and Hayes 1955, 453–4, pl. I A–D; Binns 1956, 22–5, figs. 7–9; Pevsner 1966, 254; Wilson and Klindt-Jensen 1966, 108; Wilson 1970, 73, pl. 48; Sawyer 1971, pl. XIV; Lang 1973, 20–3, pl. IV, 3–4; Lang 1978c, 18, pl. IIb; Bailey 1981a, 88–9, fig. F4

1. The following are general references to the Middleton stones: Allen and Browne 1885, 353; Frank 1888, 178; Morris 1931, 264; Mee 1941a, 161; Binns 1963, 40-3, pls.; Taylor and Taylor 1965, I, 423; Sawyer 1971, 163-6, 212; Lang 1989, 2, 3-5.