The above are marks inscribed on the door jamb of the entrance to the beautiful and fascinating church of St Andrew's, Hartburn, Northumberland.
The marks may have been left by members of that much-discussed organization The Knights Templar, who were certainly active locally. Three were tried in York on various charges including worshipping "a certain cat" - who would appear to Templars in particular circumstances.
Another curiosity is a gravestone in the floor just in front of the chancel, where the death of Dorothy, wife of William Aynsley on March 18th of the year (apparently) seventeen-thirty and-a-half!
What the "half" symbol
means here, is actually that her year of death was 1732 by the European Gregorian calendar in which the New Year began on January the first; but 1731 according the Julian calendar that was still (happily!) used in Britain, which started the New Year on March 25th - Lady Day.
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