TF0336 : Church of St. Barbara: Stone graffiti
taken 6 years ago, near to Haceby, Lincolnshire, England
Many churches have, scratched in the stone, patterns of circles, crosses, and mystic signs. After literacy became more common, names and dates started to appear.
The name 'medieval graffiti' has been given to these vernacular carvings, but some of the dated ones have 17th and 18th century origins, and I have seen one dated 1952.
It has been suggested that these represent an attempt to associate people with the place, in the hope of a safe return from pilgrimage or war. No-one really knows. It may simply be the same determination to 'make one's mark' that led schoolboys to carve their desks, or modern youth to get out the spray paint. But some of them must have taken a lot of time to complete, perhaps in more than one session, suggesting that the local church authorities were tolerant of this practice, that it was culturally normal.
The phenomenon is not unique to churches, as roadside crosses sometimes fall victim. Curiously it does seem to be confined to stonework of communal ownership, you don't see it done on people's homes or gravestones.
There is a web site called "Medieval Graffiti" which is owned by a project recording the phenomenon in Norfolk, but similar carvings have been found all over the country, although largely ignored by historians up to now.
Norfolk: Link
Suffolk: Link
Lincolnshire: Link
Surrey: Link
East Sussex: Link
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire: Link
BBC story: Link
Blog: Link
Grade I listed
Dating from the 12th C., it was restored in 1890 and 1924.
The church is constructed in limestone with tiled roofs. It consists of a nave with a clerestory, a south aisle, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages with a plain parapet. The lower two stages date from the 12th century and are constructed in rubble; the top stage is from the 14th century and is in ashlar. There are round-headed windows in the bottom stage on the west side, and in the middle stage on the south.
In the north wall of the chancel is a 13th-century lancet window. The east window in the chancel dates from the 16th century, and has three lights, and in the south wall are a two-light window containing Y-tracery and a lancet window. The south aisle has three-light Perpendicular windows in the east and south walls. The 14th-century south porch is gabled, and contains benches on its sides. In the clerestory are two three-light windows on the south side, and a single similar window on the north.
The 13th-century south arcade has two bays with octagonal piers. The tower arch has traces of red paint. The chancel arch dates from the 11th century, and is in Norman style with a round arch. Above the arch are the painted Royal arms of Queen Anne, under which are traces of a medieval Doom or Harrowing of Hell painting. The chancel contains aumbries on the north and south sides.
The octagonal font dates from the 14th century. The oak pulpit and panelling in the nave and chancel are from the 18th century.
The church was declared redundant in October 1973.
(Info from Wiki)