Carved and decorated stone-work is a rare survival from the period before the Norman Conquest. In Nottinghamshire, it survives as large crosses and as small fragments—to be found in churches, in public spaces, and in museum collections.
This is the first book to provide an authoritative listing, description, and illustration of all examples of this type of decorated stone sculpture in Nottinghamshire. Each example is illustrated in a substantial catalog containing high quality photographs, maps, and interpretative drawings. In the introductory chapters, the authors explore the geological and historical background of the sculptures and provide an overview of the types of style and ornament.
The new information revealed by the systematic study of these major survivals of Anglo-Saxon art and archaeology demonstrates the major contribution that this category of material can make to an obscure and under-investigated period in Midlands history. Nottinghamshire emerges with a distinctive identity in the pre-conquest period, having strong connections both with the Mercian state to its south and with the Northumbrians to the north.