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Description: | Carved architectural element / corbel carved as a stone head of probable medieval date (1200 - 1550). The stone head is carved from a block of light yellow - cream coloured limestone or possibly a very fine grained sandstone. A small area has an orange coloured iron staining probably due to the nature of the burial environment. There are also a number of brown coloured areas of mortar adhering to the face of the carving. The stone head has been reused, but was at one point buried. It is currently mortared over a doorway of a brick barn, probably built in the 1850??s to the model farm layout. It is an unusual item to be recorded with the PAS as it is not portable. The reasons for recording it are that the head is currently precariously mortared into the building and is being badly weathered by both the elements and also pigeons. Carved stonework of this type is relatively rare in Herefordshire and this is a good example of its type. The head is carved from a sub-rectangular block of stone with tapering vertical sides. It is also broadly sub-rectangular in both profile and cross section. The corbel measures 220mm in length, 185mm in width, and is 135mm thick. It has not been weighed.
The block of stone is carved and is three dimensional in representation. It consists of a well executed head and neck. The head is crowned and is most likely to represent a King. The crown itself is depicted as a band from which a number of fleur-de-lys extend forming a continuous chain. The profile of the face is well defined and proportioned; however, the nose has been broken. The break is relatively old and weathered. The hair is depicted as slightly wavy and terminates in a series of curls. The form of the hair is similar to that depicted on the Sterling coins of later Plantagenet??s (Edward I ?? Edward III). At the base of the neck a simple necklace / brooch is depicted. This is in the form of a simple knot (or quatrefoil). It is possible that this is a brooch pinning either a high collared cloak or tunic. The detail here has been weathered and so a definitive interpretation cannot be suggested. Above the crown the top part of the stone is flat with an uneven pecked surface. This suggests that the stone has been dressed but not finely. Such a flat piece at the top of the head suggests that the function of this piece was as a corbel (a decorative projecting stone used to support the weight of a roof or act as a column terminal from which a cross piece extends). The edges of the carving are also interesting. In that one edge is clearly finely dressed whilst the other is rough and broken. An alternative suggestion is that the carved head comes from the top of an ornate doorway or possibly a window.
The condition of the stone is relatively poor and areas have laminated quite drastically. There are a number of longitudinal cracks caused by frost action along the weakened strata of the limestone. Also the head is not well secured in the limestone mortar; it is likely to be relatively shallow in depth. Continued exposure to the elements and other factors will mean that the head is likely to deteriorate and the damage present will worsen.
Richard Morris (Buildings Archaeologist & Specialist in Worked Stones) suggests that if it is of a medieval date then it is unlikely to be earlier than the mid-thirteenth century. A date of 1250-1350 is probably most likely but it could be as late as early sixteenth century. If the stone is a limestone then this is significant, indicating a 'foreign' stone in an area dominated by local sandstones.
Thanks are extended to Richard Morris for his comments and opinion | Subjects: | Corbel | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Reavill, Peter - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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