Pre-Norman Stone Crosses in the British Isles

Cumbria contains many Viking Crosses and other pre-Norman remains, but at Gosforth, there is quite an assemblage of such artefacts - the tallest Viking Cross in England, the remains of another (scandalously cut down in 1789 to make a sundial base!), a couple of hogback tomb covers and various other bits and pieces. Be patient, because this page will take a long time to load thanks to all the pictures - and also, you'll need to look at this page with a big screen - at least 800x600 ...

A modern copy of the Gosforth Cross stands outside St. Kentigern's Church in Aspatria.

A large number of the artefacts came to light during restoration work carried out at the church at the end of the nineteenth century. One cannot but help remarking on the paradox that it was the kind of extensive restoration which a church like St. Mary's would find very difficult to get permission for these days that resulted in the discovery of all these artefacts - if modern day planning regulations had been in force a century and more ago, that work might never have been contemplated!

Viking ("Anglo-Norse") sites
Gosforth	Aspatria, Burnsall, Dearham, Dyserth, Gosforth, Halton, Hovingham, Lastingham, Maen Achwyfan, Muncaster, Oswaldkirk, Penmon, Penrith, Staveley (North Yorkshire), Sinnington, Stonegrave, Urswick, Waberthwaite

Hogbacks (see also Grave-lids)
Oswaldkirk	Aspatria, Brompton, Burnsall, Dewsbury, Gosforth, Helmsley, Oswaldkirk, Penrith, Sinnington, Stonegrave
In Viking areas, the grave-lids were often made in a distinctive shape called a hogback, because of their generally curved shape, resembling the back of a huge pig. If truth be told, it isn't really a very descriptive name, since many hogbacks do not follow that pattern at all. Some have flat tops, some have curved tops. Some are shaped to resemble the roofs of meeting halls, whilst others have the figures of bears carved at either end. This is, indeed, a very varied group of monuments.

* The Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference (and corresponding Latitude/Longitude) given at the top of the pages describing individual sites usually refer to the location of the closest or most prominent entrance to the site where the monument is to be found - e.g. a gate into a churchyard. For monuments located in open country, or at a significant distance from the site entrance as just defined, the co-ordinates usually refer to the exact location of the monument.
Please allow for a small error in the co-ordinates of up to a couple of dozen metres.

Thanks to the people at streetmap.co.uk, if you click on the Grid References in the magenta boxes on the site pages,
you'll see an extract from the relevant Ordnance Survey 1:50000 Landranger map!

As the official mapping agency of the United Kingdom Government, the Ordnance Survey produces the definitive maps of the country. They contain a wealth of information.
For more details, visit www,ordnancesurvey.co.uk/leisure

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Click to go to Pre-Norman crosses in:	England	the island of Ireland	the Isle of Man	Scotland	Wales	Read about the Saints
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The Wheel-head consists of a central boss, with triquetrae on each of the arms, and is completed with a plaited ring. The other face of the cross is similar, except that the triquetrae are more slender.	It is hard to say which is the more awe-inspiring thought - that this monolithic 4.5-metre cross has stood here since about the year 940, or that, were it not for the depredations of time and sundial makers, there would be four of them.	This scene (which is on the back of the cross as seen in the main picture) has alternative interpretations. Some authorities feel that it represents the rebirth of Baldur, who in Norse myth will re-order the world. Others believe it represents the crucifixion of Christ. In favour of the latter view are the warrior raising a spear towards the figure whose arms are stretched wide open, recalling the moment in the Gospel account when a soldier stuck a spear into Jesus to confirm that he was dead.
The carvings on the cross are still quite clear, even after the exposure to a thousand years of the Cumbrian weather. This view also shows another angle on the "crucifixion scene" shown above right.		This pattern, which adorns the lower part of the shaft, is taken to represent the foliage of the great tree Yggdrasil from Norse myth.

This is a fragment of a wheel-head cross on display inside the church
		This is a the head of the cross that was cut down in 1789 to make a sundial on display inside the church
This item, mounted on display, is called the "fishing stone". Although some descriptions of this artefact claim that it is a cross shaft, in fact its appearance is much more consistent with it being a fragment of something that was much wider, either an especially large hogback (though the lack of curvature is against that possibility) or else some sort of frieze. The name comes from the scene in the lower register, where two individuals are seen in a boat. These two are taken to be Thor and Hymir from Norse legend, and Thor is fishing for the great Midgard serpent, using an ox-head as bait. The coiled serpent is shown above the boat. In the upper register, a deer is shown trampling a serpent. The stone is interpreted as coming from the period when Christian missionaries were spreading the good news about Jesus Christ among the newly-settled Vikings. The talent of these missionaries was that they could draw parallels between the Norse myths and Christian doctrines. Here, for example, the unsuccessful pursuit of the serpent in the lower register (it was unsuccessful because although Thor caught the serpent, Hymir let it go again) is compared with the trampling of the serpent under the feet of the deer, and in this iconography, the deer represents the victorious Christ.
	Items on display in the east archway in the north aisle.

	The two hogback tomb lids on display inside the church (left), and a close up of carvings on the taller one (below)