REPORT OF CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES. 229
lightship keepers, but there is a lack of observers in the north-
western area and members of local societies willing to assist
were invited to communicate with Capt. Dannreuther.
A Monolith with Runic Inscription in High Beach Churchyard.
—In the south-west corner of High Beach Churchyard stands an upright
undressed granite slab, seven feet in height above ground, the edges of
which bear an inscription in runic characters. Beside the monolith is a
flat stone marking the grave of Mrs. E. H. Shenton, who died in 1914
and was the wife of the Rev. G. D. Shenton, sometime Rector of St.
Anthony's, Stepney, and now of Graveley, Huntingdon. These two
stones were brought from Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, the childhood
home of Mrs. Shenton, in whose memory they were erected, and the
upright stone was uninscribed when it was placed in its present position.
In 1918 Captain Austin Kirk Shenton, M.C., R.E., son of the Rev. and
Mrs. Shenton, was, at the age of 23, accidentally killed in France, after
fighting at Loos, the Somme, Arras, Cambrai and Montdidier, and he was
buried at Crouy, near Amiens. The young officer's father caused the
runic inscription to be carved on the upright stone to his memory, and
his name was also recorded beside his mother's on the flat stone.
The Old English inscription on the standing stone, which has been
transliterated into runes, is the couplet from Beowulf: "Him tha Scefing
gewat to gescaephwile felahror feran on frean waere." A modern English
translation of this passage (Professor R. K. Gordon's version) is: "Then
at the fated hour, Scefing, very brave, passed hence into the Lord's
protection." The patronymic, Scefing, of the ancient hero, Scyld Scefing,
was used instead of the forename, which appears in the text of the poem,
as the name Shenton is said to be derived from an old place name,
Sceafa-ing-tun, indicative of ownership by Saxon settlers of name similar
to that of the Beowulf character. This derivation explains the choice
of the couplet, which is thus worthily employed to commemorate a
gallant young soldier who gave his life for his country.
In spite of similarity of material the connection between the two
stones is not very evident. A standing stone bearing only an inscription
in runes naturally gives rise to many enquiries, and, with the passage of
time, speculation as to its origin is likely to increase. The monolith
does not tell its own story, and this account of its history and purpose
is intended to place on permanent record the circumstances attending
its erection.
C. J. Mercer.