b'Reading the Stone Work of St Ediths ChurchKate PrattT he oldest building in Bishop Wilton is the church. Not unlike York Minster, it has been continually added to, altered, mended, reworked and refashioned over the centuries. Most village churches were pre-dated by a single stone cross, followed perhaps by a simple wooden structure, which would then have been rebuilt in stone, most probably by the Lord of the Manor for his personal use. We do know that St Ediths must have been quite a substantial building by the twelfth century. In the absence of documentary evidence, one way of trying to establish its history is to examine the fabric. was to identify stone-carving of which a master A good place to start is the Norman doorway,mason was particularly proud, when he would which we know was reconstructed in the last greatleave his mark with a flourish, as an artist would rebuild of 1857/9 under the patronage of Sir Tattonsign a canvas. Master masons used their mark to Sykes. If you examine the stones which form theauthenticate accounts and building contracts, so it archway it immediately becomes evident that they arewas very much a personal identifier. Masonry was of different colours, the greyer stone being the originalrarely done as piecework, so there would be no need twelfth century work, and the lighter, yellower stoneto mark stones as evidence of how much work had being the nineteenth century addition. The architectbeen done, but, as masons were travelling craftsmen, in charge of the rebuilding of St Ediths, J L Pearson,there had to be some method for them to prove their was known for retaining as much existing materialabilities. It is thought that a stone-worker newly taken as possible, reconstructing what was missing (seeon to a job would mark his stones for a time until his the article by Andrew Boyce in Bulletin 9). The samework was judged of an acceptable standard, when scanning can be done with the chancel arch, wherehe could cease to do so. According to F W Brooks, the lower stones at each side of the arch can bein his work on masons marks published in 1952: it spotted as the originals, most of the rest being lateris a reasonable assumption that if we find an identical additions. masons mark in two churches, we are looking at work In the great pillar just to the North of the pulpit, itdone by the same man. It is notable that the masons may be observed that the stone is of a pinkish colour.mark pictured here is very similar to one found on Although sandstone does vary in colour from greystonework in York Minster, from work done in the to yellow to pink, one possible explanation of thisthirteenth century in the North Transept and East unmatched colouring is that the stone has been burntAisle, as collected by Brooks.at some time, and it does seem to increase from theA second masons mark in the form of a cross with base upwards. Proof has now been unearthed thatdistinctive hollows at each corner can also be found St Ediths was burnt down in the early years of theon several stonesthis is illustrated below.16th century, and that the villagers were strugglingIt must be borne in mind that stone was a valuable to find the money to rebuild it (see A Survey of theresource which would have been re-used whenever Possessions of the Archbishopric of York in thispossible, even if it meant it being re-dressed as a Bulletin). block to get rid of the worn part. On the outside wall Examining the outside of the church is veryto the right of the small door on the North side of the rewarding, and one can spot various phases ofchurch are two examples of stones which have been building, by comparing the degree of wear to there-used. One is part of a mass-dial, a carved stone stones. At the West end of the church, near the North-West corner, are several sets of initials and other graffiti, very time-worn, and amongst them can be spotted some masons marks. The clearest one is an X shape with lines joining the sides, as pictured above right.As you scan the wall, up and across, this shape can be seen on many different stones. A study has been made of masons marks, and it has been concluded that they served several purposes. One 166 BULLETIN 10'