Stone Fonts as Indicators of Recovery Following the Harrying of the North
Rita Wood, Jeffrey Craine · Yorkshire Archaeological Journal · 2025
The decades following the Harrying of the North, particularly in Yorkshire, present some quite specific issues for all historians. There is, in common with other parts of the country, a lack of written evidence. Though contemporary chroniclers report widespread destruction, there is little evidence to chart the process of recovery. However, the considerable drop in the value of estates in the region between 1066 and 1086, as recorded in the Domesday survey, provides clear evidence of widespread impoverishment. The aim here is to determine if the material evidence of stone fonts can provide any means to enable a clearer understanding of the chronology of the process of recovery in Yorkshire.