The Corpus: Whitby 07 (abbey)

Volume 6: Northern Yorkshire

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Current Display: Whitby 07 (abbey), Yorkshire North Riding

Overview

Object type: Cross-arm [1]

Measurements: L. 27.8 cm (10.9 in) W. 25.2 > 19.8 cm (9.9 > 7.8 in) D. 12.8 > 10.4 cm (5 > 4.1 in)

Stone type: Thinly bedded (cross-bedded), ferruginous, feldspathic, well sorted sandstone. Very pale brown (10YR 7/4) showing incipient reddish brown colours (5YR 5/4) due to partial burning. This stone exhibits a characteristic soft-bed weathering pattern on the side faces. Certainly deltaic sandstone from the Saltwick Formation, Aalenian, Middle Jurassic, but probably from the Sleights Bank Quarries, near Whitby. See no. 6 and no. 8.

Plate numbers in printed volume: Ills. 919–22

Corpus volume reference: Vol 6 p. 237

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Present Location

English Heritage North Region store, Helmsley (EH 88092819)

Evidence for Discovery

See Whitby 1 (abbey, St Peter and St Hilda).

Church Dedication

St Peter and St Hilda

Present Condition

Worn and eroded

Description

End of a type D10 cross-arm.

A and C (broad) : Plain, but the edge outlined by a fine roll moulding.

B (end), E and F (upper and lower) : Plain.

D (neck) : Broken.

Discussion

Compare nos. 6 and 8 which have the same type of stone and wear, as well as comparable dimensions; the supposition that this could be part of the same cross is confirmed by the petrology.

R.C.

Date

Late seventh to early eighth century

References

Peers and Radford 1943, 37, no. 8, fig. 2

Endnotes

[1] The following are general references to the Whitby stones: Hood 1927, 38, 45, 49; Kendall 1932, 9–10, 26–7, 28; Peers and Radford 1943, 33–40; Clapham 1952, 11; Wilson, D. 1964, 9; Cramp 1965b, 4; Fellows-Jensen 1972, 218; Cramp 1976a, 228; Cramp 1976b, 455–7; Rahtz 1976, 460; Cramp 1978a, 7; Bailey 1980, 81, 82; Okasha 1983, 118; Cramp 1984, 9, 79, 109, 180, 222; Higgitt 1986b, 130–1, 134, 148; Bailey and Cramp 1988, 55, 56, 85, 154; Cramp 1989, 223; Lang 1989a, 67; Lang 1990a, 2–3; Higgitt 1991, 45; Lang 1991, 24, 109, 138, 139; Cramp 1992, 8, 24, 107, 224, 252; Okasha 1992, 84; Cramp 1993, 68–9, 71; Fellows-Jensen 1995, 177; Higgitt 1995, 229–36; Rahtz 1995, 7–8; Bailey 1996a, 50–1, 111; Hawkes 1999b, 403, 410–16; Karkov 1999, 133–4; Stocker 2000, 200; Stopford 2000, 102, 104.