Volume 10: The West Midlands

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Current Display: Gloucester (Westgate Street) 1, Gloucestershire Forward button Back button
Overview
Present Location
Gloucester Museum 18/94 SF 1, on display in geology case
Evidence for Discovery
Found 1994 during watching brief at 9 Westgate Street in a twelfth-century pit (Rawes 1995, 196).
Church Dedication
Present Condition
Very weathered and damaged on all faces. The surviving carving is, however, in quite good condition.
Description

Voussoir with interlace and foliate decoration. The weathering pattern suggests that the carved face has been set in an external location. Traces of 'brown' paint survive in between foliate terminals and elsewhere. The carved face is divided into two zones. The outer zone consists of running, median-incised interlace in a series of 'loop-knots', bounded by an outer square-section moulding and an inner, much damaged but probably half-round moulding. The inner zone consists of thick curving plant stems (probably consisting at least in part of opposing spirals) with small, fleshy, backward-curving side leaves that curl up to almost touch the inner edge of the half-round moulding.

Discussion

This voussoir was found in a twelfth-century rubbish pit located in what was at that time probably open ground behind a building that fronted onto the south side of Westgate Street. It is part of an elaborately decorated arch set externally, presumably above a principal doorway, although too little survives to be able accurately to establish the width of the opening. The place of discovery is only five plots to the west of the site of All Saints' church, and it is, therefore, possible that this stone may be associated with the church as has been suggested for the Tolsey head (Gloucester Tolsey 1, p. 227). The loop-knot interlace is very similar to tenth-century interlace on a section of string-course from Bisley (Bisley All Saints 4, Ill. 53), and the plant-scroll decoration would also fit most comfortably into the tenth century.

Date
Tenth century
References
Rawes 1995, 196
Endnotes

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