Fixed to the north window sill in the sanctuary, against the east splay

'Taken from the east wall of the Early English chancel, inside, on November 3, 1904, in my presence, and cleaned by me' (Collingwood 1907, 408)

Holy Trinity

Middle section of a shaft, its reverse face dressed off; in good condition

Middle section of a shaft, its reverse face dressed off; in good condition

A (broad) : The edge moulding is a double roll on a noticeably tapering face; both mouldings are narrow, though the inner one is very narrow. Within the panel is a loose tangled plant-scroll, whose stem is median-incised. The nodes of the stem are ridged and at the right is a seed pod with large flanking petals. The shootlets carry elliptical split leaves. The pattern is not geometrical but organic.

B (narrow) : A narrow double edge moulding is rolled. The right-hand edge is lost. The panel contains an open simple plant-scroll with a triple leaf within each scroll which is graced with a pendant shootlet. A seed pod with flanking petals springs from the uppermost node, with two pendant leaves above.

C (broad) : Not visible, but 'cut away' (Collingwood 1907).

D (narrow) : The narrow double moulding is rolled. The panel, whose left-hand edge is lost, has a tangled plant-scroll with a worn cone-shaped berry bunch. The face is damaged and worn.

Wensley 1 and 2 could well be parts of a single monument. Their double roll mouldings, taper, and tangled plant-scroll are shared features, though there are some differences (see no. 2). Collingwood, commenting on the dressed reverse faces of both, postulated that they might well be grave-covers, but the loss of edges on the narrow sides confirms that the cutting away was secondary. The carving is accomplished, employing very narrow strands, deeply modelled, and 'unusually neat in the clearing of the ground' (ibid., 408). The organisation of the plant-scroll is subtle: it gives the appearance of organic growth affected by gravity, real naturalism, yet the crossing strands and shoots vigorously obey the alternately over-and-under arrangement common to interlace. The pattern is open, free and full of movement, yet carved on a small scale. It is possibly the most liberated of Yorkshire plant-scrolls since it is uninhibited by obvious geometry; even its closest analogue at Dewsbury (Collingwood 1915, 164, fig. e) has an underlying medallion, whilst the Wensley piece is happily botanical.

Late eighth to early ninth century

Collingwood 1907, 269, 271, 274, 275, 284, 291, 408, figs. c–e on 409; McCall 1910, 158–9, pl. XXXVII; Colling-wood 1912, 128; Collingwood 1915, 274, 285; Brøndsted 1924, 43n; Collingwood 1932, 50; Pevsner 1966, 382; White 1997, 47

[1] The following are general references to the Wensley stones: Barker 1854, 183; Barker 1856, 183; Whellan 1859, II, 439; Hodges 1894, 195; (—) 1906–11a, xxxiv; (—) 1908b, 468; Bolton 1915–16, 228; Morris, J. 1931, 397, 417; Elgee and Elgee 1933, 251; Mee 1941, 249; Morris, C. 1981, 234; White 1997, 47. In November 1915 a skeleton with its head to the west was discovered in Wensley churchyard, together with a late Anglo-Saxon sword, knife, spearhead and sickle (Bolton 1915–16, 228–30; Wilson, D. 1965, 41–2). The burial was 4 ft 6 in below the surface, and adjacent to mortared stone foundations running north–south. Wilson dates the sword to the late ninth century. (Eds.)