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Object type: Capitals. Stone wrongly associated with pre-conquest period
Measurements:
Stone type:
Plate numbers in printed volume:
Corpus volume reference: Vol 7 p. 191
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Two capitals on exterior of south doorway; six capitals on exterior of south chancel wall; one capital of roundheaded window on interior of south chancel wall; thirty capitals on piers of central crossing tower.
Although a case can be made for part of the fabric of the church to be pre-Conquest, the rich decoration of its openings appear to be post-Conquest but with strong influence from pre-Conquest art. For example the west capital of the south doorway (see Ill. 563) depicts a mask and foliage with long curling leaves which is obviously inspired by late Anglo-Saxon art, particularly that of manuscripts. Its pair is however much more obviously Romanesque (Zarnecki 1966, 99, pls. XIXa, XXa). Similarly the acanthine ornament on the tower pier capitals (Ills. 564–5) has an Anglo-Saxon pedigree but is most convincingly interpreted as the work of Anglo-Saxon craftsmen working for Norman patrons. West, on the other hand, has noted (pers comm.) that in the early post-Conquest period the matter of Anglo-Saxon influence is clouded by the Anglo-Saxon sources of Norman ornament. The floral ornaments in the Norman repertory belong to or are derived from the repertory of sub-Byzantine floral ornaments in Ottonian art.
Appendix B item (stones wrongly associated with pre-Conquest period).
