The Saxon Stone

A drive up the A34 to Whitchurch as S had an appointment. It was delayed so I did a lot of wandering around the town.

In All Hallows church there's the Saxon Stone:

This stone was discovered embedded in the north wall when the Victorians were rebuilding the church in 1866-68. It is unique but reminiscent of the style of the stones found on Hadrian's Wall. It shows a carved figure in relief. The halo with the cross behind the head indicates that it is of Jesus, who holds the gospels in his left hand while his right is raised in blessing. In spite of the damage of centuries, the fingers are easily discernible.
Like other very early representations of Christ, the chin, albeit damaged, seems to be clean-shaven. Across the top, and possibly at some later date, an inscription has been carved, commemorating a Saxon lady whose name means "Pledge of Peace".
It reads: "HIC CORPUS FRITHBURGAE REQUIESCIT IN PACEM SEPULTUM", which is translated as: "Here the body of Frithburga lies buried in peace".