Gloucester

This piece known as T22 is kept in Gloucester Museum, and belongs to the oldest backgammon set know to exist (c. 1085 – 1130), and was excavated from Gloucester Castle (Commercial Street, Gloucester)in 1983. It is on display in its own case in the archaeological section of the museum. With fragments of the board, there are a total of 30 pieces made of some form of bone, or horn. The pieces represent months of the year, a variety of Zodiac sings including Virgo, Sagittarius, also a Sphinx, Elephant, Two Birds, Wolf, St Michael, David, A Hanged Man, Gathered, Tumblers, Lovers, Serpent, Tress-puller, Dancer, Juggler, Samson and Lion, Musician with rebec, a Toad, and our figure labelled ‘Annus – The Year’. It is claimed some pieces defy interpretation. Quite a few are damaged by years in the soil, and rodent gnawing, like our figure but others such as February are in mint condition.

The Gloucester City Museum web site identifies the possible link of this piece to exhibitionists. They suggest the pose is generally called a ‘caccans’ because of the squatting position, but another name for a figure with sexually explicit characteristics is a Sheela na Gig. It has been suggested that a few other pieces in this table set, the dancer, lovers, and juggler could also be exhibitionist.

Text and photograph by Keith Jones.

Image used by permission of Gloucester City Museum.

A very similar figure to this one is carved on one of the central roundels at Autun in France.
This figure is in a better state of preservation and while being splay legged is not exhibitionist.

John Harding

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Haverfordwest

The Figure

In her recently published book Sheela-na-gigs Unravelling an Enigma Barbara Freitag gave details of a Sheela na Gig at Haverfordwest Priory in the county of Dyfed.

The Haverfordwest figure is placed in between two column capitals originating from the priory at Haverfordwest which is thought to have been founded in the early 13thC (1203) by Augustinian cannons. The annual income at the time of the Dissolution was assessed at £133 indicating a moderate wealth by the standards of Welsh monastic houses. Records and the state of ruins suggest the priory escaped the worst
damage due to fire, or war. The ruins were substantially robbed of their decorative stonework over the years, but fortunately, this figure was found during excavations of the site in 1994.

What remains of the capital is in a very good state of preservation, this may indicate that it was an indoor figure. It is thought the capital would have been part of the cloisters.

The figure which measures 84mm x 60mm is an inverted acrobat type. The genital area is damaged so its anyone’s guess as to whether it was exhibitionist once. As you can see from the photograph there is a very faint raised area on the groin which may indicate a vulva. There may also be a pointer to this figure being an exhibitionist due to the surround of the figure. At first, I thought it was vegetation surrounding the figure but Dr Rees mentioned that she thought it was a dress. On closer inspection, the vegetation bore a distinct impression of folds rather than vines or leaves. This is further borne out by the fact that there is a “bar” just below the breasts, which could indicate a fold of dress material.

This figure is now in the possession of CADW. Thanks go to Dr Sian Rees and Dr Richard Avent of CADW for allowing us to photograph this and the Raglan castle figure.

A Warning Against Lust?

Since this figure was located in the cloisters it would seem that this carving was meant for an ecclesiastic audience. Since we know with some certainty that sculpture was used as an educational tool could this figure have been used as reminder to the monks not to indulge in the sin of lust? It’s position on a cloister column does not seem to suggest an apotropaic function.

Haverfordwest Priory Cloisters. A pictoral reconstruction of the cloisters shows decorated capitals at head height. This would seem to indicate that the figure was meant to be seen further strengthening the warning against lust interpretation of the figure.

Location

Please note this map indicates the original location of the figure only.
At the time of writing the figure is in the possession of CADW and is not only public display.

Directions

Stanton St Quintin

The Figure

The church of St Giles at Stanton St. Quintin is located in the county of Wiltshire it is a small unassuming village very near the M4 motorway. I learned about this Sheela from internet mailing list and found out that it had been published in The Haunted Landscape a book on Wiltshire folklore. When visiting the site it’s easy to see why this sheela has not been reported before. Situated high on the church tower it is nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding masonry. We were only able to find the carving with the help of the ex-vicar of the church John Morgan who very kindly showed us round.

The figure itself is quite unusual, (if anyone can tell what a usual sheela is I would be glad to hear from them). Firstly as it is situated high on the church tower almost out of sight and does not seem to be associated with doors or windows. It is interesting to note that the Oxford sheela occupied a similar position though. The figure is quite small with a large squat oval head. It’s hard to tell from the photograph but the top of head may have been cut off. There also appear to be two large trumpet like ears. It also appears to be holding two grooved sticks. It’s hard to distinguish what these “sticks” may be. The sheela is also unusual in that it seems to have four holes drilled into it. Two large ones around the genital and stomach area and two smaller holes drilled into the main body. This is similar to the Seir Kieran figure now in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

The figure is mentioned in the church guide but its height and position have probably kept it out of the gaze of most researchers.

Male or Female?
Once again we have to ask the question is this a sheela na gig? It lacks the overt unequivocal nature of the Kilpeck or Oaksey sheelas but what do those holes mean? Given that the holes are round were they used as socket for a phallus? The positioning of the holes would suggest that one position is meant for a flacid penis (pointing down) while the other is for an erect penis (pointing straight out). If this is the case then we have a male rather than female figure. The “breasts” however would seem to indicate that the figure is meant to be female. The lower hole could just be an exaggerated anus which can be seen on other figures like the one at Twywell.
The “ears” also appear to be fairly deep holes. Were these used to hold horns or antlers? The Seir Kieran sheela has similar holes on it’s head which some have argued have been used as sockets for this purpose. The smaller holes on the abdomen are more difficult to suggest a meaning for. All in all an enigmatic and puzzling figure.

Thanks to Richard Pederick for the use of the b&w picture of the sheela below.

Photo of the figure by Richard Pederick

SheelaStanton05 — Worn Romanesque figure of Christ set into the west wall

SheelaStanton06 — Romanesque Heads on a column in the Church

The church also has a number of carvings dotted around the structure most striking of these is the pillar heads on the back door to the church. Both pillars are topped by identical pillar swallowing heads with ornately carved headdresses.

For more information on column swallowers see Anthony Weir’s website.

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Rock

The Figure

Location : ///stance.siesta.lunges

Directions

This near exhibitionist figure is to found in the Church of St Peter and St Paul Rock a few mile north-west of Worcester. The figure’s legs are splayed and held apart by the arms in a very sheela like pose. Saying that there is little to indicate the sex of the figure, though from what appears to be a headdress the overall impression is that of a female figure. In addition to this there is a pillar or possible phallus between it’s legs this could possibly be part of the snake or even a “stool”. The figure is intertwined with a serpent figure with what looks to be a bird’s head (this may just be a medieval style of representing snake heads) and could be an example of a femme aux serpents figure. See Images of Lust for examples. While the figure lacks the overt exhibitionist nature of the sheela-na-gig there are undeniable sexual elements to it. Malcom Thurlby the author of the ‘The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture’ describes the figure as exhibitionist ¹ and also mentions an abstract exhibitionist figure on the corbel table above the main door (see below). Bizarrely he compares this figure to the Sheela-na-gig at Kilpeck. The figure appears to be an animal head with two paws (arms?) either side and a grooved tongue protruding between them. Faint eyes are evident at the top of the figure.

Interestingly both he and Professor Zarnecki ² ascribe the carving on the chancel arch, which includes the exhibitionist figure, to the Aston Master of the Herefordshire School who was also responsible in part for the carving at Kilpeck.

The Village of Rock

The village of Rock or Ake does not appear in the Domesday book but may be identified with the two berewicks Kiddiminster called Ribbesford. In the past Rock was once more important than it is today. In 1328 Henry de Ribbesford had a grant of a weekly market and a yearly fair on the feast of St Margaret. A now destroyed manuscript at Stanford Court records that “here was anciently a large town fit for receit, it may seem to have been a mercat”. The commercial importance of Rock is further borne out by the quality of the carving in the church which is said to rank with the best work in the county.

1 The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Art. Malcom Thurlbury.
2 Later English Romanesque Sculpture 1140-1210 Prof. George Zarnecki
3 Victoria County History A History of the County of Worcester: volume 4 (British History Online)

The position of figure on chancel arch (red arrow)

Horse head with knotwork capital.

Bizarre goggle headed corbel

An abstract exhibitionist?

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Bredwardine

The Figure

This figure is situated above a low blocked doorway on the Church of St Andrew’s at Bredwardine in Herefordshire. Described in the church pamphlet as a “monkey” figure it displays a definite exhibitionist type pose. Unfortunately the stone is weathered but there does seem to be an indication of some carving between the legs which is unfortunately now missing or damaged. It’s hard to say whether or not this figure was a sheela/exhibitionist but the overall pose does seem to suggest it. The figure has appears to be wearing a headress and/or has very large ears strengthening its monkey like appearance. The figure also appears to have two breasts and has one hand touching the mouth while the other is held aloft. There is also a strange bird/snake headed figure adjacent to the “monkey” carving. This can be seen in the picture below. (It’s worth comparing the head of this figure to the snakes head on the Rock figure.) Both figures are flanked by two geometric floral carvings. The right hand pillar is topped and tailed by two very worn faces. The bottom face being inverted. Was the figure originally exhibitionist? Hard to say but I think it’s worth including it in the “possible” file. If you visit this figure be sure to look underneath the lintel as it is carved too.

The Sheela of the Baskervilles?

To the south of the churchyard lie the now scant remains of Bredwardine castle. It consists of a motte with an irregular oblong bailey. The keep seems to have separated from the bailey by a ditch. The castle would not have been overly large with the remains only measuring 78 x 45 feet. At the time of the Norman conquest Bredwardine was granted to John de Bredwardine but by the early 1200s had passed into the hands of the Baskerville family. It is interesting to note that like nearby Kilpeck, Devizes and Holdgate to the North the church appears to be part of or at l east very near to a significant Norman fortification. Due to the nature of the carving and the geometric floral ornament its thought that this is an eary carving possibly even 11th century which would not make this figure the Sheela of the Baskervilles.

For more information on Bredwardine Castle including a map showing the castles proximity to the church look here
http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/bredwardine.htm

The church at Bredwardine is also famous for one of it’s previous vicars, the Victorian diarist Rev. Francis Kilvert who is buried in the churchyard.

Update 26th Nov 2005
The CRSBI site has a page dedicated to the carvings on Bredwardine church and also comes to the conclusion that the figure may be an exhibitionist or Luxuria figure.

Malcom J. Watkins of Gloucester City Museum is also of the opinion that this figure is a possible exhibitionist and mentions this briefly in connection with the Annus tablesman piece at Gloucester museum.

John Harding

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Margam

This figure can be found in the Margam Stones Museum at Margam Abbey near Port Talbot S.Wales. It’s mentioned in Images Of Lust as a possible corbel and the photo in the book does seem to display him like that. However as you can see from the photographs below the figure is a lot more complex and is in fact a gargoyle (i.e. water spout). Anthony Weir has a page on this figure including a correction to Images of Lust here.

Images of Lust describes the as having bent arms which appear to be holding two phalluses or candles. As you can see in the image below these “candles” are in fact the figure’s feet. The figure is actually sitting on its buttocks holding them apart (where the water comes out) with its legs splayed and up in the air. The figure could be said to be a “Man at Stool” figure. The arms and legs on one side of the figure are badly worn which at first gave me the impression that there might have been another figure on top but as it turned out this was not the case. The figure has a celtic feel to it despite it being thought to have originated in the 15th or 16th centuries. This is another example of where Images of Lust is disappointing, anyone visiting the figure can quickly ascertain that it is indeed a water spout not a corbel. Images of lust also shows the figure sitting on its buttocks upright unlike how it should have been displayed head first into a wall with the carving being visible only from below.

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Llanhamlach

The Figures

Llanhamlach is a small village approximately 4 miles to the east of Brecon in Powys S.Wales. The church of St.Peter in the village contains the Ioannis Moridic stone pictured on the left. It is thought to be no later than the 11th century and there is also some conjecture that the stone that it could be two or three centuries earlier. There is a latin inscription on the right hand edge which reads IOHANNIS / MORIDIC SUREXIT HUNC LAPIDEM which is thought to mean “Moridic erected this stone”. There is a marked space and slash between the IOHANNIS and MORIDIC. According to a sign on the church SUREXIT is thought to be an error on the part of the sculptor who had an incomplete grasp of Latin. The IOHANNIS is thought to be part of another inscription which is now lost. What is most intriguing about the stone is the two figures carved either side of the decapitated cross. Both appear to have “penises” peeking from beneath their garments yet the right hand figure also appears to have breasts with “rays” emanating from them possibly indicating milk. Both figures hold their hands in the air and the right hand figure also appears to have “earrings” i.e. circles either side of the head. The stone appears in the 1876 book “Lapidarium Walliae” by J.O. Westwood who identifies the figures as Adam and Eve under the tree of knowledge and the Virgin Mary and St John standing beside the cross in turn. Interestingly no mention is made of the possible “penises” and the illustration in the book omits them altogether. Another example of the Victorian bowdlerisation of carvings which also happened to the Kilpeck figure.
You may also want to compare the carvings on this stone with the Three Disgraces at Burford church. The middle figure is carved in a similar manner with a “penis” peeking from beneath a shift. It’s very hard to say what this stone is meant to represent with it’s confusion of sexual symbolism.

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Penmon

Location: ///punt.hoped.highways

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The present church of St Seiriol at Penmon on the Isle of Anglesy (Ynys Môn) in North Wales, was built between 1120 to 1123 and was once a major monastic site. St Seiriol lived in his cell just behind the church in the 6th century. The foundations of his cell, and the well are other interesting features of the area. The church also includes a wealth of carvings including a rather fine tympanum above the south door, the 11th century font, Celtic Crosses, arcading, a bearded man carrying an axe which is thought to represent Gofannon the Pagan god of blacksmiths, and the Sheela. The Sheela was thought to have originated on the west outside wall of the south transept, but is now fixed to the wall inside the south transept of the church.
The Penmon figure is badly weathered and the head has little of the facial features left although her ears can be made out. Both arms are held at the side of the body, the slit of the vulva is deeply carved between the legs which are held straight. Andersen suggests its similarity to the Oxford Sheela.

According to Roberts and McMahon a second figure situated in the dark interior of the church may also be a Sheela na Gig but very little is known about it. This is situated on a capital at the top of the south pillar of the rather fine Norman arch at the back of the church. This is rather crude and somewhat comical, which Anthony Weir describes as splay-legged, sexless and probably an acrobat symbolising unnatural acts. Archaeologia Cambrensis describes the western arch as follows

”..the capitals very rudely sculptured, and representing (if anything can now be defined of them), sprawling monsters or fishes..’

Keith Jones

Addendum: A few hours after putting up this page some further information came in from the sheela na gig mailing list. Gay Cannon attended a lecture by Maureen Concannon. While speaking to someone in the audience who had visited Penmon he found out that coins had been left on the ledge below the figure. This was not immediately obvious though as the person had used a ladder to get a closer look. One more indication of the continuing respect that these figures are paid.

Site visit Nov 10 2006

I finally managed to get to Penmon to get some photographs of the figures. My first impression was of surprise at the size of the figure. It was much larger than I expected having only seen it in photographs.

John Harding

This figure has been suggested as a second, somewhat abstract, sheela na gig in a similar style to the Haddon Hall sheela. The piece is set high in the wall of the chancel above the larger tower arch. It is accompanied by a smaller enclosed head which appears to be part of a voussoir. This carving may also be part of a now missing arch. As you can see from the photograph the carving is very worn but does have a gap at the bottom of the figure. We could interpret the outer ridges of the carving as representing legs while the inner circle represents arms. This is however something of a reach. It’s equally as likely that the carving is merely an enclosed head like its neighbour. Unfortunately like the rest of the figurative carving in the church the quality is not terribly good with confusing details. All in all its hard to say exactly what the carving is supposed to represent.

At first glance this carving appears splay legged but on closer inspection turns out to be a lot more complex and ambiguous. The right “leg” of the figure terminates in what appears to be a head with and open mouth and the other “leg” trails off into a tail. The left “arm” of the figure is bent at 90 degrees while the right appears more winglike. The arms and body may be compeletely separate to the head making bottom half of the carving a inverted dragon/snake like figure surmounted by a corner mask. The snake motif also appears on the opposite capitals (below).

These two capitals like opposite the “splay legged” capital on the other side of the arch.
Whereas the former is confusing these two seem to be completely abstract. The left hand capital seems to be formed of two snake like bodies terminating in open “crab claws” or mouths while over the impression of the capital is of a thick lipped abstract face. The second capital is even more confusing with a headless half egg shaped torso holding down another snake like body. Two rudimentary hands are carved on the snakes body. There appears to be damage or an unfinished area where you would expect the head to be. The rest of the carving is a crude abstract pattern. All in all completely baffling imagery.

This beast head is also set into the wall above the tower arch. It represents a beast of some type holding its snout. This is a common Romanesque motif and is repeated at many sites such as St Peters at Northampton and Kilpeck.

The tower arch.
As you can see the quality of the workmanship on arch is not the best. What appears to be an inscription at the bottom of the arch on the right hand side of the picture is in fact just decoration. The “acrobatic” and head figures can be seen on the left hand side of the picture while the beast head can be seen on the right.

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Diddlebury

An Exhibitionist?

If you visit the Church Stretton, Holdgate or Tugford figures you will likely come across mention in the church leaflets of another church at Diddlebury which has a Sheela Na Gig. As you can see from the photographs this claim is somewhat dubious. The most likely candidate figure is the one pictured on the left. However it is so damaged that it is hard to say what it originally was meant to represent. It appears to a torso with the remnants of two legs and what could be a jutting out neck. There is no evidence of any sexual organs carved between the legs.

There are a number of other carvings on the church mainly of animal heads and a weathered human head over a door. Interestingly the bear head with muzzle is very similar to the bear at Kilpeck. This might indicate that the original carving was done by sculptors of the Herefordshire school. According to professor Zarnecki that the font at nearby Holdgate is also of Herefordshire school origin.

There is small description of the town of Diddlebury here with a nice picture of the church.

For those of you who like odd coincidences… When I visited the church the second time I picked up a church guide which was written by Dr Sally P.J.Harvey. P.J Harvey of course wrote and sang the song Sheela Na Gig. It’s also worth remarking that Dr Harvey mentions the figures only as “human” and does not describe them as exhibitionist in any way.

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Llanon

This figure is reported in The Visual Culture of Wales and Archaelogia Cambrensis 2001 as being a sheela na gig. The figure originally comes from Capel Non (Non’s Chapel) in Llanon near Aberystwyth in Ceredigion. Many place names in Wales begin with Llan which does not really have a direct equivalent in English. Llan can mean religious enclosure, church, parish or even village. Probably the safest translation in this case is that of “Non’s Church”, St. Non being the mother of St. David the patron saint of Wales. When the chapel was demolished it was moved to a local pub then to Aberystwyth library and now resides in the Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth in the Bowen Gallery.

The carving was originally thought to be of St. Non holding the infant St David (Dewi sant). As you can see from the photograph the stone is very worn but there seems to be little suggestion of a baby figure. At first glance there is very little to see on the carving due to the weathering. The photo has had it’s shadows boosted to bring out what little details remain. In reality there is very little to see on the real carving. There appears to be a faint remnant of the facial features with two high set eyes, small nose and what could have been a large gaping mouth. Some caution must be applied here as these features may just be a side affect of the weathering and may not allude to the original features of the carving. The right arm of the figure hangs loosely by it’s side while the left appears to be gesturing to the lower stomach area or genitals. The bottom of the carving is very confused the left leg appears to be attached to the body whereas the right leg appears to be detached with the hand of the right arm resting on it. The genitals, if they are genitals appear to be hanging down between the legs, however the “genitals” may be the right leg and the other leg something else.

The figure does have some features which would indicate that it is possibly an exhibitionist figure and I can see why this figure has been newly classified as a sheela. However the figure has no tradition of being “rude” rather it was recorded as a figure of St Non holding the baby St David. This and the fact it is very weathered means we can’t be a 100% sure what it originally was meant to represent.

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Wales and the Marches

Gloucester

Location

Haverfordwest

The Figure

A Warning Against Lust?

Location

Stanton St Quintin

The Figure

Location

Rock

The Figure

The Village of Rock

Location

Bredwardine

The Figure

The Sheela of the Baskervilles?

Location

Margam

Location

Llanhamlach

The Figures

Location

Penmon

Location

Diddlebury

An Exhibitionist?

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Llanon

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