Built in to west end of north wall of north aisle, inside

First recorded by author in 1991

Holy Trinity

Angles and face bruised, but unweathered

Irregularly broken below and to either side, but with an original upper horizontal edge. Along this edge is a broad plain border, supported to the right by a stepped capital carried by a reeded pilaster, partially broken away. To the extreme left may be the remains of another stepped capital, but the degree of damage renders this uncertain. The remains of the intervening field are decorated with a three-element palmette or foliate spray developing from the lower edge. Each element is reeded.

The small size of the fragment makes its original function difficult to establish. The lack of weathering may suggest that it was originally located inside a building, and the use of plant sprays between reeded pilasters is reminiscent of the decorative friezes at Sompting 9–11 (Ills. 172–80) and Dover, St Mary in Castro no. 4 (Ill. 70). The dating of the piece is equally problematic, but the use of reeded, formalized foliage, perhaps derived from acanthus, is paralleled on the string-course fragments from Sompting (nos. 1–8; Ills. 162–71), and a similar mid eleventh-century date is possible for this fragment.

Eleventh century

Unpublished