Hedda stone - Peterborough Cathedral
This finely carved monument, known as the Hedda Stone, dates to around 870 CE and comes from the site of the early medieval monastery of Medeshamstede, now Peterborough. The stone is believed to be the shrine or memorial chest of Abbot Hedda and his community, who, according to later chronicles, were martyred during the Danish raids of the late ninth century.1 Contemporary tradition records that some eighty-four monks, including Hedda himself, were slain when the abbey was destroyed.2
The main face of the stone displays twelve standing figures carved in shallow relief, each beneath an arch and distinguished by subtle variations in gesture and attribute. They are thought to represent the martyred monks or saints of the abbey, shown in attitudes of prayer and composure, their hands clasped or holding books. The rhythmic arrangement and architectural framing convey the sense of an ordered spiritual community, a visual choir of the faithful.
Above the figures runs a narrow decorative band of interlace and vine scroll ornament, symbolising eternal life and divine flourishing. The composition, with its restrained frontality and emphasis on symmetry, belongs to the same Mercian sculptural tradition as the carvings at Breedon-on-the-Hill. Both sites share stylistic features: the tall, narrow figures; the draped linear garments; and the framing arcades derived from contemporary manuscript art, such as the Book of Cerne (c. 820 CE).
The Hedda Stone thus represents both a work of memorial devotion and a masterpiece of late Anglo-Saxon craftsmanship. It stands as a poignant expression of communal faith and resilience at the end of Mercia’s golden age, a moment when art, spirituality, and history converge in a single carved block of stone.