Tickhill

In her book ‘Explore Green Men’, published in 2003, Mercia MacDermot reported the presence of a ‘Sheela’ and a phallic male on the gatehouse of Tickhill Castle, just a few kilometers west of Austerfield. The castle located 9km south of Doncaster, is on private land which is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster who have refused access to the public for a number of years. Although blocked by a large wooden gate the medieval gatehouse and its carvings can be clearly seen from Castlegate Road. Viewing is difficult during the summer months due to dense tree foliage.

The castle at Tickhill was built by Roger de Busli (alternate spellings abound and include Busili, Buslim,Buslin, Buesli and more commonly Bully) from the land given to him by William I for his assistance in the invasion of 1066. Roger de Busli was a major landholder in the Domesday book holding 174 estates in Nottinghamshire. His seat of power was at Blythe but Tickhill was his main castle. Originally, a Motte and Bailey the castle was added to throughout the years, culminating in the 17th century Manor House. The curtain wall, and gatehouse was constructed during early 12th century (1129-30?), and the barbican added in the 13th century.

The gatehouse is decorated with four pediments inlaid with small crude statuettes and slabs. The carvings are considered of late 11th or early 12th century ornamentation. There are five human figures amongst the decorations but of the two are of particular interest.

To the right is a rather squat figure which could be MacDermot’s suggested Sheela, where both arms held down the trunk, come to rest at the lower abdominal area. Two short legs are held straight, and at an angle of the body. Although an outline of a head is just evident, no features can be seen.

The figure to the left is more complex, and could be male or female. It has a long slender body, its large head contains a broad nose, and the position of the two nares is evident, as are two small eyes. Two arms are held close two the body and come to rest, cupping the genital area, where fingers are clearly discernible. If a female, the pudenda consists of a circular hole, and like the Church Stretton figure seems to contain a stone. The rather large pelvic area, which may suggest the figure is female, is supported by two short legs. If the figure is male, the large pelvic area becomes the figure’s hands (a little too large when compared to the size of the figures arms however). In effect the large hands are holding the base of the penis. The hole may be a socket where a penis was inserted. Both figures are rather worn, and it is difficult to be certain.

Although fairly common in Ireland, secular/castle Sheelas are very scarce on the British mainland. The only known other known example can be found in Haddon Hall. However while sheelas on castles may be rare in Britain sheelas associated with castles are more common. Kilpeck, Devizes, Holdgate and the possible sheela figure at Bredwardine are all castle churches and are intimately connected with their accompanying castles often forming part of the castle complex.

Interestingly a definite sheela na gig lies around 5 miles to west in the village of Austerfield in church built by another member of the Bully family, John de Bully. This figure, dating from around the same period as the gatehouse, adds weight to the likelyhood of these worn figures being exhibitionist with local sculptors being familiar with the exhibitionist motif. Like Kilpeck and Holdgate these castles were the main castles for their lords and all are connected with sheela na gig carvings. Tickhill is another example where we have (possible) exhibitionist figures associated with the main castle of a powerful local Norman lord. It seems that sheelas and status are connected in some way (this idea is currently being explored by Dr Theresa Oakley).

Text John Harding and Keith Jones

Photographs copyright Keith Jones

Other worn figures on the castle the last with some facial features still evident

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North Grimston

The Church

The Church of St Nicholas at North Grimston North Yorkshire (Also known as North Grimstone)
The Village of Grimston lies 4 miles SE. of Malton in North Yorkshire is recorded in the Domesday book as “Grimeston”. The village is also known for the iron age sword accidentally found there in 1902. The Church of St Nicholas, on which the figure resides, has a number features which date it back to the Norman period but the font is widely regarded to be Saxon which dates the building back even further.

The Figures

The sheela is one of a number of Romanesque corbels some of which appear to be relocated voussoirs.The figure appears to be quite fat and unusually has a pair of pendulous breasts (see Oaksey for another example). There appears to be small cleft between the bent legs of the figure possibly indicating a vagina. The figure’s arms are held against the top of the chest. It’s quite modest in its exhibitionism, in some ways similar to the figure at Worth Matravers in Dorset. In fact a number of the figures bear a passing similarity to the carvings at Stoke Sub Hamdon and Studland far to the South. As well as the corbel table the church boasts a Romanesque chancel arch. This is another example of a figure which is not as unequivocally exhibitionist as say the Kilpeck or Oaksey sheelas yet still has sexual attributes (breasts in this case). It is interesting that this figure has a counterpart in masturbating male figure which seems to firmly put the carvings in the sexual sin category.
Pat O’Halloran’s site www.danu.co.uk has a number of photographs of the church, corbel table and its Saxon font. Thanks go to Pat for allowing the use of his images on this website.

Male figure at North Grimston
This figure while very worn can still just be recognised as a masturbating male figure with the remnants of a penis just visible. The motif can be seen at other Romanesque sites such as the Church of St John in Devizes and possibly at Tickhill Castle although the latter is very worn

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Egremont

A Lost Sheela

This figure was discovered during the building of St Mary’s church Egremont in the 1800’s. While the current building dates from that period the old church was said to include elements of Norman and Early English architecture. The figure was documented by Dr C.A. Parker in his paper “Early Sculpted Stones at Gosforth, Ponsonby, St Bridget’s, Haile and Egremont” published in 1902. The photo to the right comes from this publication. A comparison between this figure and the Donna Impudica figure in Milan was made by Richard N Bailey in his paper “Apotropaic Figures in Milan and North-West England” published in 1983 in Folklore vol. 94;i Both figures hold what appear to be shears and are in the act of cutting their pubic hair. In this article Baliey mentions that the figure was not mentioned in a later book by Parker in 1926 and states that the figure was already lost at that time.

However a recent online guide “Ghosts in the Lake District” written by Tony Walker (http://www.ghoststories.org.uk) mentions a sheela na gig at Egremont church.

“in the churchyard near the west door are fragments of sculpture. One of them is very interesting in that it is very old and looks very much like what, in Ireland, they call a Sheela na Gig. It’s difficult to make out, but it seems to be a barbaric carving of a female figure with both hands holding her vulva apart.”

Unfortunately this guide is no longer available online. It’s interesting that the above description does not exactly match the figure on the left with both hands holding the vulva apart.

I contacted Mr. Walker and tried to confirm that the carving to the left was one of the ones mentioned but unfortunately he could not remember them as he had visited the church a number of years earlier. I also contacted the vicar of the church but unfortunately no further information was available. If anyone knows any more about these carvings then please let me know as it would be nice to re-discover this lost carving. For another lost sheela see the St Ives figure.

A Crude Carving

One of the more puzzling aspects of exhibitionist figures, especially sheela na gigs, is that the quality of carving can vary considerably. In the Egremont sheela we have an example of a fairly crude, “stick figure” representation. The usual explanation for this is that the figure is “ancient” and that our predecessors lacked the skill of later artists. However we should be careful about equating crude with old. 12th century sculpture varied considerably in its quality. For example the sheelas at Lower Swell and Church Stretton are fairly crude when compared to Kilpeck or Holdgate however we can be fairly certain that they all date from around the same period i.e. the 12th century. Anthony Weir has put forward a “non sculptor sculptors” theory where the sculptor carving the figure was making it for ritual purposes (either apotropaic or linked to fertility) and was not a trained sculptor. Another more prosaic reason for the variable quality could be down to economic reasons i.e. highly trained sculptors were too expensive. There is some evidence to suggest that the reason for the crude quality of carving of the Church Stretton sheela is down to economic reasons rather than the carving being “ancient”.

If you have any information on this figure please Email the Sheela Na Gig Project .

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Copgrove

The Devil Stone at Copgrive church — The Devil Stone at Copgrove church. Photograph Courtesy of C.B. Newham of www.digiatlas.org Copyright C.B. Newham

The Figure

Unfortunately the Copgrove figure is now badly worn and almost impossible to photograph. It’s very hard to make out the outlines of the figure even with the naked eye. Known locally as the “Devil Stone” the figure has been regarded as being of Romano British origin. It consists of a stick like figure with a large head holding a a circle in one hand next to the figure is a T shape which has been interpreted as both an axe or a tau cross. This may have been a later addition. Between the legs of the figure there is a slit which could be vaginal but equally could be phallic given the style and primitive nature of the carving. The figure has been moved a few times. According to Anderssen the figure was originally located on North Chancel wall but was moved to the North east corner. Recently it has been moved again, this time to the inside of the church to prevent further weathering. Taking into account the primitive nature of the carving this could be one of the oldest sheelas in Britain. However it may be misleading to go solely by the style as it may equally be the doodling of a medieval mason.

The sheela in its original location. Photograph courtesy of Anthony Weir

Previous location of the figure marked by the white stone

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Cleckheaton

The Figure

This figure is also reported as being in Scholes. The figure is unique in the UK and Ireland due to it’s location on a font. The font is thought to be Norman and while the carving borders on crude the motifs are similar to those found in othe Romanesque sculpture. The round headed blind arcading would seem to suggest the Romanesque although this is open to interpretation. The exhibitionist figure is one of a series of human and abstract/foliate carvings contained within the round headed blind arcading. The figures appear in the intersection of the arches giving the heads their pointed appearance. The other figures on the font include a round headed figure and a bearded figure with a pointed head.The sheela na gig figure is different from the rest in that its legs with its in-turned feet escape the confines of the arcading and are carved on the base of the font. While the execution is fairly crude the deeply carved cleft between the legs, as well as both hands gesturing towards the cleft make this an unequivocal exhibitionist or “sheela na gig”.

You can see more pictures of the font at the Ye Olde Whitechapel in the North website. If you want to find out more about the Chapel a booklet is available from the website. Anthony Weir also has a commentary on this figure at Beyond the Pale.

This font appears in Medieval Churches of West Yorkshire published by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service.

The font is still being used for baptisms today.

Another sheela na gig figure has been found close by at Woodkirk church some ten miles from Cleckheaton

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Bugthorpe

Photo by Keith Jones.

The Figure

This figure is reported in Images of Lust as being a possible Beakhead sheela unfortunately it is covered in a thick layer of whitewash which makes identification and study of the figure difficult. When Keith visited the church the vicar informed him that the whitewash was due to be removed at some time in the near future. It would be interesting to see what type of figure would be revealed. I hope to have more information on this figure when I visit it in person.

History and other figures

Although this figure is covered we can make some inferences about it’s likelihood of of being a sheela na gig. The carving the rest of the church appears to be Romanesque so we are at least in the right period for an exhibitionist figure.

Other whitewashed figures in the church.

John Harding

There are some very good pictures of the carvings at this website below

Bugthorpe, Yorkshire – St Andrew

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Bridlington

Text and photographs by Keith Jones

The Figure

This Sheela was located in the 12th century cloister of priory church of St Mary’s, Bridlington. Little now remains of the cloisters except for their foundations on the south side of the church. When the Sheela was found in the church yard, a portion of the arcading which contained the figure was reconstructed, and placed on display in the north aisle of the church.
The Sheela straddles two modern colonnettes.. It stands 1.65 metres from the ground, and measures 12cm long, and 9cm wide. Although somewhat weathered the mouth, broad nose, and eyes are just evident. The figure has a broad well marked forehead, and this combined with possible small ears, gives the appearance of some head gear. Her two spindly arms are held down the side of her trunk, and it appears as if the left arm passes beneath the left knee. Below the trunk her faded two hands come to rest on a small distinct clefts which suggests the genitals, and some fingers can just be made out. A very thin rather spindly left leg is held away from her body, but her right leg has weathered away. Her shoulders appear humped, while her right shoulder is much thicker then her left, and seems to be pushed forward, perhaps deliberate to give the appearance of a hump-back.

Horse-shoe like structures also decorate the Sheela, and according to Walker (1996):

‘Hindus, Arabs, and Celts regarded the yonic shape of the horseshoe as a symbol of the Goddesses ‘Great Gate’, thus it was always esteemed as a prophylactic door charm’.

Keith Jones

Although this figure is weathered it would seem from the remaining visible carving that it may a have been exhibitionist. It’s interesting to compare this figure with the one at Haverfordwest which is similarly on a cloister capital. Since the cloisters were meant primarily for use by the clergy it would seem to suggest that these two figures served as warning against lust rather than serving an apotropaic function.

Hard to Photograph
This figure like the one at Croft on Tees has the reputation that it is difficult to photograph. David Clarke and Andy Roberts in their book Twighlight of the Celtic Gods tell of Jean O’Melia a colleague of Sidney Jackson who had difficulty photographing the Croft on Tees Sheela. She failed to get pictures of the Bridlington figure and of another unnamed sheela na gig in Ireland.

John Harding

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Bilton in Ainsty

The Figures

The church of St Helen’s, Bilton in Ainsty is situated on the B1224 York to Wetherby road. Although the church dates from Saxon times, it was considerably altered under Norman influence.

As you enter to church through the porch walk over to the vestry in the top right hand corner. The twin sheelas are situated corbel table, near the eastern wall. Formerly both corbel tables in the vestry, and Lady Chapel. were on the outside wall prior to the extension of the church in 1869.

The sheela nearest to the east wall has very broad shoulders, and haunches. Although it is claimed by Roberts ‘with her arms held on her abdomen’, her hands holds the lower part of the genitalia, which broadly occupy her trunk up to her neck.. The other is said to be ‘badly damaged hacked at, presumably because, the right arm and the hand held beneath it suggest a very patient posture.’ Although the head and shoulders are reasonably well defined, the damage to the lower half of the sculpture is so bad, it is difficult to determine any features. There are several very interesting carvings found inside the church including a Saxon Cross, various corbels including monsters, and a mermaid stresses puller.

The church is kept locked, although a key is available from the Old Vicarage, Bilton.

Text and photographs by Keith Jones

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Austerfield

This figure can be found atop a capital in the Church of St Helena in the small village of Austerfield in Yorkshire. a lot of the original masonry can still be seen. The church has strong connections with the pilgrim fathers. The governor of the community which sailed on the Mayflower, William Bradford was baptised in this church on the 19th of March 1589.

A Hidden Sheela

The figure is large and more crudely carved than the other carvings in the church. The face is missing, has weathered away or more likely, has been defaced at some time. A number of scratches on the face seem to lend weight to this interpretation. However the it may be that the figure never had a face as the proportions of the head seem reasonable and there is no indication of the mouth. The figure appears to be wearing a headdress or has a full head of hair. The right hand gestures to the groin where a fairly modest vulva is indicated by a cleft. The left arm is truncated at the elbow. A raised area on the chest may indicate breasts but there appears to be no space indicating clevage. The figure has spent most of the last 500 years or so hidden in a wall. The norman pillar, on which the sheela resides, was walled up with its neighbours possibly in the 14th century when the North aisle of the church collapsed. Rather than rebuild the aisle the pillars were filled in and replastered to make the outer wall of the church. During the 1898 restoration of the church the pillars were rediscovered and uncovered. Fortunately parts of the capitals protruded from the wall which alerted the architect of the restoration that there might be something within the wall.

The Church and the Bullies

The church leaflet states that the present church was built in 1080 by John de Bully (alternate spellings are Busili, Buslim Buesli and Buili) as a Chapel of Ease for the people of Austerfield. They had previously had been making a 12 mile round trip every Sunday to attend Blythe Priory. John de Bully lived from 1054 to 1089 (?), since the church would have built between these dates or soon after, it places the carving of the sheela firmly in a Norman context but one which is quite early for a UK sheela na gig. This of course assumes that the sheela was carved at the time of building. Even if the sheela is a later addition the pillars are still Norman work (12th century?). Whichever century the pillars belong to it still firmly places the figure in a Norman context. The church is also famous for its tympanumover the south door which shows a fairly crude dragon. An article by the Rev Edward Dunnicliffe in the Southwell review of 1954 places the dragon tympanum in the 8th Century and relates it to the Synod of Austerfield of 702 which settled the manner in which the date of Easter should be calculated. However an article on the CRSBI site (below) seems to imply that the tympanum is the work of the Yorkshire school of Romanesque sculpture rather than earlier Saxon work.

Austerfield is approximately 5 miles to the east of Tickhill Castle which houses some possible exhibitionist figures and was owned by Roger de Bully who is renowned “for being famous in the Domesday book and nowhere else”. So once again we seem to have a local tradition of carving exhibitionist figures and the same family acting as patrons.

There is a fairly detailed page on St Helena’s at Doncaster Family History Society websitehttp://www.doncasterfhs.co.uk/churches/austerfield.htm
No mention is made of the sheela na gig.

An article on Romanesque sculpture in the West Riding of Yorkshire can be found here
http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/crsbi/ywpreface.html

Thanks go to Chris Harrison for supplying the images and the church leaflet

John Harding

SheelaAusterfield02 — Image copyright Chris Harrison

SheelaAusterfieldTympanum — The Dragon Tympanum. Picture copyright Richard Croft.

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Alstonefield

The Figure

Picture copyright Tim Prevett used with permission
This figure was found in a pile of loose sculpture fragments in the church by Akiko Kuroda on a Northern Earth Walk
The find was subsequently published in Northern Earth magazine.

The figure is of a monster eating someone with only the legs and buttocks protruding from the mouth. The monsters head is recognisably Romanesque with striations on the face that can be seen at many other sites (Kilpeck and Romsey are good pair of examples). The motif of someone being eaten by a monstrous head is reasonably common in religious Romanesque sculpture (Devizes has a similar monstrous figure with legs protruding from the mouth). This figure with the additional exhibitionist motif is to my knowledge unique. A pair arms holds open what appears to be the labia between the legs of the figure. It is difficult to see in the photo whether the arms belong to the monster or the person being eaten. The motif of a person being eaten is very much a symbol of sin and damnation. A number of Romanesque manuscripts and sculptures show the damned within the jaws of a huge monster. The theory that sheela na gigs are warnings against lust was put forward in Images of Lust by Anthony Weir and James Jerman and has been argued against by some people. Here however we have a example which unequivocally places both exhibitionism and damnation within the same context. The figure as now been set into the wall inside the church for safekeeping.

The church was dedicated to St Peter in 892 St Oswald Archbishop of York. The church has a number of Romanesque features including an arch and other architectural fragments built into the walls along with other newer features.
The church also holds one of the oldest gravestone in the country bearing the date of 1518

John Harding

Video of the figure Copyright Charles Wildgoose used with permission

Link to the video on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/81538501@N00/4746059425/in/set-72157624316109609

Examples of the striated monstrous head motif on the doorway at Kilpeck. (Image Inverted for clarity)

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Northern England

Tickhill

Location

North Grimston

The Church

The Figures

Location

Egremont

A Lost Sheela

A Crude Carving

Location

Copgrove

The Figure

Location

Cleckheaton

The Figure

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Bugthorpe

The Figure

History and other figures

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Bridlington

The Figure

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Bilton in Ainsty

The Figures

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Austerfield

A Hidden Sheela

The Church and the Bullies

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Alstonefield

The Figure

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