A corner of yorkshire

THE PRAYER STONE, CONISBROUGH

To the right hand side of the path that takes the congregation and other visitors to the front porch of the historic church of St Peter’s in Conisbrough, there is a column of stone that stands a little apart from the many gravestones of the surrounding churchyard. It is about four feet high, and six inches wide on its four sides. This curious monument is rather weathered.

This is one of Yorkshire’s oldest prayer stones, or preaching crosses, set up in the early Saxon times before any churches were built, as a meeting point for those who wanted to hear the word of the Lord.

The church itself claims to be the oldest building in South Yorkshire, and there are parts of it which have been dated to AD 730-750, when there were still very valid threats of Viking raids. The stone probably predates it by at least a century, and it could well have come from a demolished Roman villa.