The Stone Coffin in Hunstanton Church
The coffin appears to have been opened at some stage because there
is what seems to be a line of modern cement sealing the edges.
The following is general information about
stone coffin lids and is provided by 'Lyn Stilgoe.
"There has been a recent detailed
study of these grave slabs/coffin lids, which often survive without the actual coffin
underneath. They may have also been used over wood coffins or even a hole in the
ground. They were originally positioned in the chancel, and the current thinking is
that they may be a status symbol for the person who paid for major building or
re-building of a church, often a priest.
Many of those found in the west half of
Norfolk were made at Barnack, whereas in the eastern part of the county more appear to
have come from Purbeck.
The use of a roundel with four petal
like segments at both ends of the shaft indicates a date possibly in the mid 12thC.
The other symbol, known erroneously as an "omega", is very popular, often with
two of them back to back, a so-called "double omega". It is not
thought that the people of that time would have known the greek letter, and if
so would have associated it with alpha, which is never seen on these slabs.
The current thinking is perhaps it imitates the hinges on a coffin, or
perhaps the palms and laurels used in a funeral procession. The later versions
seem to become more ribbon like, but no really satisfactory explanation has yet been made.
Many of these slabs have survived largely
by being turned upside-down and used as a useful addition to the stone for the
floor." |
