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When the
Churches were consecrated in the Middle Ages it was customary for the Bishop
to make the sign of the Cross with his thumb dipped in holy oil on twelve
different places in the building. Afterwards crosses were incised or painted
at these spots, and one such cross is now seen to be painted on the respond
of the Saxon arch. This is considered by those well qualified to judge to
be the earliest known remaining consecration cross in the country, dating
probably from the 12th Century. Visible under the painted cross is a still
earlier incised cross. Until their discovery both cross and arch had been
hidden from view since the 13th or 14th Century, when the present North
aisle replaced the original Saxon aisle. |
