St Luke's parish church in Thurnby dates back to Medieval times, but was rebuilt in the 1870s. During this reconstruction, four incised stones were revealed, thought to be from the late Anglo-Saxon period. Three of these stones were built into one of the piers of the 12th century tower. The fourth shows signs of having been used in a doorway. These stones bear rough geometric designs on both faces, but lack any written inscriptions.
One of these designs looks like a Nine Men's Morris game board. This is a game that dates back to at least the late Anglo-Saxon period, a thousand years ago or more.
Surviving examples of stone sculpture of this period are very rare. These four stones have been interpreted as tomb or gravestones, or possibly boundary markers placed at each corner of the churchyard.
We think of churches clearing gravestones from the churchyard as a recent issue, but this practice evidently dates back at least nine hundred years.
