Description; Not
much is known about Leeds in the Dark ages. Any evidence there may be is buried
under a large industrial city. However, during reconstruction of the Parish
Church in 1838, several carved stones were uncovered in the fabric of the
tower. They are parts of two ninth or tenth century crosses. Some are now in
Leeds Museum, but several have been re-assembled in the church.
Stone crosses are a common feature of Anglo Saxon sites, some may
pre-date the original building, but many were probably erected outside wooden
churches, to be later demolished and used in a later stone rebuilding. See St. Gregory's Minster
Further cross fragments used to be on display in Leeds museum. I
recently went to see them but the museum no longer exists! Presumably it was Thatchered in the '80's. **I went to the museum recently;
very disappointing from a dark age history point of
view – couldn’t find any cross fragments**
A detail
of a robed figure, probably an evangelist. The right-hand half is, however, a
reconstruction.
Closeup of the scrollwork
along the side of the cross.
Sources; The Leeds Crosses, by Alec McGuire
& Ann Clark. Museum of Leeds publishers
All
Photographs by the author.