NORMAN TOMBSTONE AT CONINGSBOROUGH.
Read at Canterbury, September 11, 1844.
Norman Tombstone.
Very few sepulchral monuments of undoubtedly Norman date are known to exist, and for this reason I hope that the accompanying drawing, a faithful representation of one which is preserved in the church of Coningsborough, will be regarded with some degree of interest by those members of our Association, whose attention has been directed to this class of our national antiquities.
This tomb is of grit, slightly ridged, and tapering from head to foot: it is 5 feet 9 inches long, 2 feet broad at the head, and 1 foot 7 inches at the foot, 15 inches high in the centre, and 13 inches at the sides. It must originally have been placed close to the north wall of the church, either in the nave or chancel, its northern side as well as its ends being destitute of ornament, whilst its top and its southern side are decorated with a profusion of rude sculpture. The temptation of our first parents in Paradise on one side, and a combat between two mounted knights on the other, are represented on the top at the head, and below them are several other devices, contained in roundels, generally too much defaced to
