A study of stone sculpture from Cumberland and Westmorland c.1092-1153 within a historical context

This thesis is the first study to survey and analyse the full extent of Cumberland and Westmorland's stone sculpture from the Norman and Scottish period. The aims of the thesis are to place the surviving stone sculpture within the context of late eleventh- and early twelfth-century art and culture and to identify sources of style, content and iconography and links with other artistic media. These are achieved through discussion of aspects of stone sculpture from a variety of sites and detailed examination of specific carvings: the lintel-stone at St Bees; the font at Bridekirk; four principal doorways: St Bees, Great Salkeld, Torpenhow and Kirkbampton. No surviving object of stone sculpture, architectural or free-standing, can be associated with a specific document or patron, but detailed analysis indicates the surviving carvings provide valuable visual evidence of Norman culture and the role of stone decoration within it. The final chapter concludes the study and considers the development of the parochial system which required churches and the possible patrons involved.Prior to this study, there has been little discussion of these carvings in the art-historical literature. The lintel-stone at St Bees and the font at Bridekirk have attracted some scholarly attention, but, elsewhere across the region, the surviving sculpture has remained comparatively unnoticed.1 The pre-Conquest carvings from the Anglian and Norse periods have been comprehensively analysed and catalogued in the Corpus (Map 6). The historical aspects, however, of the emergence of Cumberland and Westmorland into the modem age have been extensively discussed and documented.2 The history of the area has been explored by several authors in the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. These articles, contributed by authors with local expertise, cover all aspects of the area's history, including discussion of church buildings and sites. Canon James Wilson's contribution to the Victoria County History of Cumberland, Volumes 1 and 2, is unsurpassed by later authors in the majority of his views.3 This literature has provided invaluable sources ofinformation to an outsider of the region and forms much of the basis of historical discussion in this thesis. The study of Carlisle by Henry Summerson is comprehensive.4 This volume has been expanded by Charles Phythian-Adams in his study of the region up to 1120.5 Geoffrey Barrow, through his work on the relationship ofCumberland and Westmorland with Scotland, and John Todd, a resident of Cumberland, through historical studies based on surviving documentary evidence, have provided painstakingly accurate assessments of aspects of the region.6 Todd's work on the priories of St Bees and Lanercost are meticulously researched.7 Richard Sharpe, in the past few years, has also contributed to the interpretation of documentary material, Pipe Rolls and surviving charters.8 Scholarly thinking continues to develop as archaeological and sculptural evidence emerges, exemplified by the excavations at Whithorn throughout the past fifteen years. The loss of sculpture from the major part of the original Norman cathedral in Carlisle and the disappearance of Wetheral Priory detract from an understanding of sculptural development across the region and the influences upon it. To compensate for this loss, comparisons with other major sites and other artistic media from elsewhere are introduced