into the west wall of Kirkdale church. At the time of its discovery the
late Rev. Daniel H. Haigh[1] tells us that a runic inscription spelling
_Kununc Oithilwalde_, meaning "to King Æthelwald," was quite legible. This
would seem to indicate that the founder of Lastingham monastery was buried
at Kirkdale, or that the site of Bede's, "Læstingaeu" was at Kirkdale if
the stone has not been moved from its original position.

[Footnote 1: _Yorkshire Archæological Journal_, v. 134.]

[Illustration: Saxon or Pre-Norman Remains at and near Pickering.]

The inscription has now perished, but Bishop Browne tells us[1] that when
he had photographs taken of the stone in 1886 "there was only one rune
left, the 'Oi' of the king's name." "I have seen, however," he says, "the
drawing made of the letters when the stone was found, and many of them
were still legible when the Rev. Daniel Haigh worked at the stone." There
seems little doubt that this most valuable inscription might have been
preserved if the stone had been kept from the action of the air and
weather.

[Footnote 1: Browne, Rt. Rev. G.F.: "The Conversion of the Heptarchy," p.
151.]

There are several other pre-Norman sculptured stones at Kirkdale. They are
generally built into the walls on the exterior, and are not very apparent
unless carefully looked for. In the vestry some fragments of stone bearing
interlaced ornament are preserved.

Not only at Kirkdale are these pre-Norman stones built into walls that
appear to belong to a date prior to the Conquest, but also at Middleton