Deerhurst Church,Gloucestershire

Abstract

The zoomorphic ornament of a group of sculptured crosses from Ryedale is here analysed in detail in terms of motif and style. Its Yorkshire context is defined and close parallels from Skaill, Orkney and Kirk Braddan on the Isle of Man are discussed. Origins for various style and motif elements are sought in insular and Scandinavian art. It is concluded that a group of sculptures in Ryedale, exemplified by the Sinning ton crosses, were produced in the second quarter of the tenth century during a period when Yorkshire was under strong Scandinavian influence and had close contacts with the Irish Sea Province. The ornament of the Sinnington crosses closely reflects Anglo-Scandinavian motifs and styles current in York and around the Irish Sea in this period. These Anglo-Scandinavian artistic developments reveal a complex assimilation of preceding English and Scandinavian artistic traditions and may have been a source for reciprocal influences on the arts in mainland Scandinavia. Following the abolition of Scandinavian kingship in York in 954, metropolitan art styles further developed, with prominently insular, particularly Mercian, rather than Scandianavian influences, while the sculpture of Ryedale became introverted and provincial with little evidence of further external influence.     

Roman Villa,Discovered at Bisley,Gloucestershire

In 1973 the Watch Hill barrow in St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall was excavated and demonstrated to be a complex structure. However, at the time it was only possible to arrange two radiocarbon determinations, from the same pit in the base of the ditch. As part of postgraduate research carried out at the University of Exeter, the archive was revisited and funding obtained for a further four radiocarbon determinations from the ditch and central burial within the barrow. The six radiocarbon determinations together ranged between 2140 and 1680 cal. BC. The results are significant as they indicate that the site was in use over several centuries with the burial occurring towards the end of activity.     

Church,Community and Democracy

Abstract

The doctrine of church shapes Christian practice around community, producing a Christian worldview that privileges communal life. Authoritarian and/or sectarian conceptions of church will by definition undermine the practice and sustainability of democracy. Democratic practices are needed to avoid authoritarianism within the church and to promote dialogue between the church and the larger community. Resulting, qualified understandings of community may allow for helpful reformation of the doctrine of church and create space for a communitarian corrective to the overly secular and individualistic conceptions of democracy that are currently dominant.     

Marling & Evans,King's Stanley and Ebley Mills,Gloucestershire

Abstract

The economic causes of European emigration to the United States in the nineteenth century enjoy an established historiography, which considers many aspects of the pre-industrial economy from agriculture to the collapse of traditional industries. This paper examines the link between pre-industrial home textile manufacture and emigration from the German south-west. It draws on data from communities and households in the state of Württemberg, and finds that pre-industrial textile production was not a major determinant of migration patterns in the nineteenth century; instead, the localised rise and fall of textile work was influenced by the availability of emigration pathways, an inversion of results seen elsewhere.     

Church,State and the Rwandan Genocide

Abstract

This article takes a critical look at the experience of the Christian Churches during the time of the Rwandan genocide between 6 April and mid July 1994. It is established that in about 100 days about one million people faced death at the hands of soldiers, militias and ordinary civilians. Most victims were killed in churches and other church premises where they had gathered in hope of protection. The genocide in Rwanda was extensive both in its scale and execution. In this article we attempt to understand why and how the churches were involved in the killings, and the implications of such involvement in contemporary efforts towards reconciliation.     

Remains of Shobdon Old Church,Herefordshire

Nineteenth-century barrow-diggers have been stereotyped as village parsons and schoolmasters who decimated the prehistoric monuments of England. This study of Derbyshire and Gloucestershire identifies who they were, and provides a social context for their work. Although unsurprisingly drawn mainly from the middle classes, they range from the intellectuals of the age to local curates, doctors and farmers. The booming English rural economy of the mid-Victorian period allowed many to participate in the activity, often for a social or even political purpose; it is also clear that agricultural improvement was the catalyst for many of these barrow excavations.