Monks' Dormitory, Durham Cathedral (catalogue no. LXVIII)

Reported in 1868 as 'found in the foundation of the Old Hall at Northorpe' (J. T. Fowler MS) or 'found in the wall of the Old Hall' (Fowler 1867–70a, 190): all evidence derives from J. T. Fowler who 'saw it on a rockwork at Northorpe Hall and understood that it had been found in taking down a wall at the Old Hall' (Fowler 1896, 4; Davies 1914–15, 175). The Old Hall was the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century residence of a cadet branch of the Monson family. The cover was removed to Durham before 1899 through Canon Fowler's agency (Haverfield and Greenwell 1899, 129; Davies 1914–15, 175).

Not available

Good

Part of a flat, rectangular or slightly tapering grave-cover of Lindsey type, nearly complete in length, decorated in low relief and only on the upper surface.

A (top): The border is defined by a single cable moulding and the central field is occupied by interconnecting lines of simple pattern F interlace, which produce a repetitive figure-of-eight pattern. Two lines survive out of three that probably originally existed, and four rows, with an additional row of free rings filling out the field at one end, adjacent to the cross-joined terminal: the figure-of-eight units measure 17.75 × 11.5 cm (7 × 4.5 in). The layout and spacing of the lines and rows is competently regular, and the decoration stands sharply as a squared U section against the flat cut-away background. The cover has been split for secondary use down the line of intersections of the interlace (cf. Theddlethorpe St Helen 1) .

B (long): ?Original dressed edge.

C and E (ends): Cable border removed in secondary use of the stone.

D (long): Recut, with a rough chamfer and a hole of 2 cm (0.75 in) diameter and 5 cm (2 in) depth with associated traces of iron staining halfway along.

F (bottom): Roughly tooled.

This is one of the covers of Lindsey type discussed in Chapter V. Its complete original dimensions are more certain than any other among the sub-group (b), distinguished by their single cable border, except Cammeringham 1 (Table 6). These would have been approximately 110 × 46 cm (43.5 × 18 in). Pace Cramp's (1965) assessment as 'typical of ninth–tenth century Midland work', the cover dates with the rest of the Lindsey group from the later tenth or early eleventh century and by virtue of its free rings probably later rather than earlier in that range.

Probably early eleventh century

Fowler 1867–70a, 190; Allen and Browne 1885, 356; Fowler 1896, 4; Haverfield and Greenwell 1899, no. LXVIII, 129 and fig.; Brown 1937, pl. XXIV; Davies 1914–15, 175; Davies 1915, 52; Davies 1926, 17–18, fig. 3; Butler 1963–4, 110; Cramp 1965, 8, no. 68; Stocker 1986a, 61, 82; Pevsner et al. 1989, 585 fn.; Stocker with Everson 1990, 88; Tweddle et al. 1995, 94, 216