Odda's Chapel, Deerhurst (Dedication Stone)

This Dedication stone (a facsimile!) inside Odda's Chapel is translated as:

Duke Odda ordered this Royal Hall to be built and dedicated to the honour of the Holy Trinity for the soul of his brother Ælfric, which was taken up from this place. Bishop Ealdred it was who dedicated the same on the 12th April in the 14th year of the reign of Edward, King of the English. [1056]

The original stone, discovered in 1675, is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. At the time it was discovered it was believed to relate to the Saxon Priory Church nearby, but the discovery of this Chapel in 1885, hidden inside the Tudor Abbot's Court made this more likely.

As might be expected from the brickwork, this east wall is part of the Tudor alteration, during which time also a second floor was added for use as living accomodation.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)