Propped against north wall at west end of nave

No direct evidence. A drawing appears in the Ross collection (LCL, Ross MSS vol. 5 (Aslacoe), p. 126). The cover is otherwise first recorded serving as threshold to the west door (Sympson 1912–13, 225), which itself is part of the eighteenth-century reduction of the medieval fabric and was certainly in existence by 1793 (LCL, Banks folios, vol. 1, f. 265). The reuse probably originated then rather than at the major restoration of 1896, which involved a new door and complete reflooring of the building ((—) 1895–6b, lxvi): for Romilly Allen had notice of the stone from a Mr W. J. Kaye, who was told that it had been taken up and examined 'during the recent restoration' (BL, Add. MS 37550, f. 775). The cover was removed from the threshold after 1926 (Davies 1926, 9, pl. VII) and before 1964 (Pevsner and Harris 1964, 214).

St Michael

Poor; very abraded in localised patches from reuse as threshold, and with meandering lengthwise crack in its surface and spalling or loss of surface near its narrower end.

Only the south stop (a) preserves details that are capable of description. Its fellow (b) may have been similar, perhaps identical. The stop comprises a full-face human head. The eyes are simply gouged-out hollows, the nose is long and somewhat flattened, the lips appear to have a lop-sided or even pouting expression, but this may be caused by an original drooping moustache, now very rounded by weathering. It is possible that a line across the forehead marks a fringe or head-dress.

This is one of the interlace covers of Lindsey type discussed in Chapter V. It is the most complete example of sub-group (b), distinguished by its single cable border (Table 6). Five rows of figure-of-eight remain, as with the sub-group (a) example at Miningsby (Ill. 301) with a similar reuse. If, as Northorpe 1 suggests (Ill. 308), what is lacking is only a completion of the pattern and a border, then the complete cover had a length of about 135–40 cm (53–55 in).

Later tenth or early eleventh century

Sympson 1912–13, 225, and plate; Davies 1914–15, 138; Davies 1915, 52; Cox 1924, 94; Davies 1926, 9, pl. VII; Butler 1963–4, 109, 110; Pevsner and Harris 1964, 214; (—) 1971, 6; Stocker 1986a, 61; Pevsner et al. 1989, 209; Stocker with Everson 1990, 89; Tweddle et al. 1995, 94, 216