Church of St. Michael, grave cover
Church of St. Michael, grave cover
HER Number
12197
District
Sunderland
Site Name
Church of St. Michael, grave cover
Place
Houghton-le-Spring
Map Sheet
NZ34NW
Class
Religious Ritual and Funerary
Site Type: Broad
Grave Marker
Site Type: Specific
Grave Slab
General Period
MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Medieval 1066 to 1540
Form of Evidence
Structure
Description
A small double grave-cover 0.59m x 0.58m x 0.53m thought to commemorate male twins (Boyle suggests that a similar slab at St. Lawrence Church, Pittington, County Durham which is also spilt into two panels commemorates twins). It now lies in the south transept but was in the churchyard in the C19. The upper surface of the stone is divided into two panels, separated by a groove. The panels are plain except for an incised border. The long sides of the stone each have an arcade of pointed arches, and at the head end a pair of cross heads carved in relief. The cross heads are of the round-leaf bracelet form. That on the left is quite conventional. The one on the right is set diagonally and has more pronounced pointed buds {Ryder, 1985, p 99}.
Easting
434180
Northing
549850
Grid Reference
NZ434180549850
Sources
Peter F. Ryder, 1985, The Medieval Cross Slab Grave Cover in County Durham, Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland Research Report No. 1, p 99; J.R. Boyle, 1892, Comprehensive Guide to the County of Durham, p. 559