First and foremost I must pay tribute to Eric Cambridge, since his work as Research Assistant in the production of this volume has gone beyond the normal bounds of editorship. Not only has he undertaken the formatting, and reduction of illustrations, but he has also checked much of the text and some of the references. Indeed, many tasks which should properly have fallen to the author were accomplished by him. I am grateful to him for his patience as well as for the benefit of his scholarship, and for dedicating much time to this volume that would otherwise have been spent on his own research.

Rosemary Cramp has contributed to the preparation of the volume in no small way. I am grateful for the valuable time she has devoted editorially, and more especially, for her friendship, support, and advice over many years, as the research developed. John Senior's work on the geology has established high standards for the project and I value his commitment to the subject; the fieldwork was often uncomfortable, but always cheerfully accomplished. For the contributions on the inscriptions by John Higgitt and Raymond Page I am especially appreciative. To Richard Bailey, a colleague of long standing, I offer thanks for decades of discussion and happy field trips relating to the material.

Nearly every photograph in the book was taken by Tom Middlemass, formerly of the University of Durham Department of Archaeology. Their quality is outstanding, a measure of his painstaking approach, and of the dedication he has given to the project for so long. I am grateful to Yvonne Beadnell for the skilful production of the maps and line drawings. The expertise and sharp eye of the project's Computer Consultant, Francis Pritchard, have saved the text from many inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Together with Eric Cambridge, Jane Tonks and Margaret Barnes were responsible for much of the typing of a difficult manuscript.

I wish to express my thanks to David Wilson, the Chairman of the British Academy's Corpus Committee, and to its members, especially Leslie Webster and Henry Loyn, whose comments were valuable in reviewing the Introduction. Many scholars have been helpful in the production of the volume, in particular, Elizabeth Coatsworth, Ross Trench-Jellicoe, Derek Phillips, Richard Hall, Ian Pattison, and Ann Clark, all of whom deserve my appreciation. I also wish to thank those many incumbents whose churches house the sculptures for their warm welcomes and for their care of the monuments. I am grateful also to the curators of Museums which house many of the carvings: Elizabeth Hartley of the Yorkshire Museum has always gone out of her way to assist me; while Jane Holdsworth, Douglas Smith, and Bert Frank, have literally exerted themselves to make the stones in their care available. Thanks are due also to the Dean and Chapter of York Minster, the trustees of the Ryedale Folk Museum, and the York Archaeological Trust.

Several of the newly discovered pieces in this volume were first identified by the late Dr Pauline Dalton. It was her support and enthusiasm which sustained so much of the research, and it is to her memory that this volume is dedicated.