IX. The Carved Stones at Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, and their position in the history of English Art
The series of carved and sculptured stones built into the walls of the church of Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, has long attracted attention, not only by reason of the unusual excellence and delicacy of the carving but also from the remarkable forms that the carving itself assumes. The fact that, in spite of some timid opposition in the past, the theory that these carvings are the work of late twelfth-century craftsmen has hitherto held the field, is sufficient excuse for my bringing the subject before the Society, believing as I do that an entirely wrong date has been assigned. The alternative date—the latter part of the eighth century—which I shall put forward, will, if established, at once place the series in a foremost position in the history of English art, and supply an entirely new chapter in its development.