If Anglo-Saxon Stones Could Talk
In some corners of England, the last Anglo-Saxon relics are looking down on us.
You have to know the angel is there before you can see him. He is hidden around a corner, a carving set high up on an outside wall, in a quiet rural churchyard in Gloucestershire. His stone eyes are wide and staring, his face solemn, set against his curling hair and the spread fan of his wings.
This carving is part of an extraordinary collection of Anglo-Saxon sculptures at Deerhurst, once an important monastery and now one of the best preserved pre-Conquest churches in England. Its high, narrow interior is covered with the traces of Saxon building and rebuilding, with blocked doorways and odd triangular windows which originally led to elaborate lofts and galleries. In most older English churches, such relics of early medieval architecture have long ago been swept away by later remodelling, but here they stand testament to the ambitions of the Anglo-Saxon builders.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
