Reused face up as the top tread in the newel staircase of the west tower

No direct evidence. Its reuse dates from the rebuilding of the church in 1864–6 ((—) 1865–6, lxxxviii) to designs of S. S. Teulon. Cox (1924, 313) records that 'much of the old greenstone [sc. from the medieval church] was reused in the rebuilding of the tower'. It probably came to light in these operations, but was first recorded in its present position as a new discovery of the 1920s in the Baldwin Brown papers (Edinburgh University Library, MS Gen. 1922/189) and by C. W. Phillips, 11 December 1929, in Ordnance Survey and Lincoln Museum records.

St Helen

Badly affected by its reuse. One end of the stone has been shaped to form part of the newel post and is overlain by a modern brick jamb: the opposite end is overlain by the corresponding brick jamb. One long edge has been cut to provide the desired width of tread: part of the surface is obscured by cement slurry and another part removed by re-cutting. The whole surface is very abraded by passage of feet.

The middle section of a flat, rectangular or slightly tapering cover of Lindsey type 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 three interconnecting lines of simple pattern F interlace, which produce a repetitive figure-of-eight pattern in three surviving rows. The figure-of-eight units measure 18.5 × 10.75 cm (7.25 × 4.25 in): the spacing of the lines and rows are quite regular but the pattern is lop-sided because the rows are not accurately aligned across the cover. Despite its abraded surface, the decoration stands sharply as a squared U section against the flat cut-away background. Two longitudinal incisions or grooves run between the lines of interlace. These appear to be a later scoring of the stone, with the intention of splitting it for secondary use (cf. Lincoln (St Mark) 16 and Northorpe 1).

B (long): Undecorated but carefully worked into a bowed section.

C (end): Cut to form a section in the newel post of the staircase.

D (long): Cut for secondary use.

E (end): Built in.

F (bottom): Roughly dressed flat, perhaps original.

This is one of the interlace covers of Lindsey type discussed in Chapter V. It belongs to the sub-group (b) distinguished by its single cable border (Table 6). In its present form the stone is slightly tapering: this may reflect its original form but it is not possible to be certain. The pattern, too, appears surprisingly lop-sided, but its incomplete and damaged state does not allow any reason for this to be seen. With an original width of 46+ cm (18+ in) the cover must have been close to the norm of 50 cm found at Cammeringham 1, Lincoln St Mark 3 and Manby 1 among sub-group (b) and Laceby 1, Lincoln St Mark 4 and Miningsby 1 of sub-group (a). Its bowed edge section finds parallels at Blyborough 1 and Lincoln St Mark 4.

Later tenth or early eleventh century

Stocker 1986a, 61, 82; Pevsner et al. 1989, 755