An ancient Saxon stone, which had been housed in a Blackpool church, has been returned to its home in Ripon Cathedral at a special service.
The stone, which has been kept in St Wilfrid’s Church in Blackpool for fifty years, has been returned following the church’s closure. It was dedicated during the cathedral’s annual Founders and Benefactors service with a special prayer which was said in Anglo Saxon.
Research by Canon Dr Joyce Hill, an expert in Saxon history, unearthed the stone and its whereabouts. It had been offered to the Lancashire Church in the 1960s as the new building was dedicated to St Wilfrid.
Writing in the Ripon Gazette, the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson said, “Over the decades the collective memory of the cathedral had, for the most part, forgotten about this stone…. Sadly, the Church of St Wilfrid, Blackpool closed recently. The people there kindly asked if we would like our stone back. Without any hesitation we said yes!”
The stone, known as the Sigurd Stone, was dedicated with a prayer (in its native tongue!) read by Dr Hill. It is now housed in the cathedral library and is on view free of charge daily.