Grotesque sculptured long stone that has been place against the church tower of All Saints church, Braunston, Rutland. The stone was used as a doorstep to the church until the 1920s when it was removed and the carving was discovered on the underside having been laid hidden for years. Victoria County History of Rutland (1935) described it as a sheela-na-gig, “rude Fertility Figures which occur in England, Wales, Ireland and Normandy”. However, its features would not be out-of-place with other grotesque medieval sculptures found on churches in England (eg, Kilpeck). Bob Thurbshaw and Jill Bourne also argue it could of originally intended to be facing downwards from a church parapet, such as the Somerset hunky punkys. Even more the figure can be read both upside down and downside up revealing female and male figures (see below).
Photographs taken early March 2020.
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