How does this artwork elucidate its History?
The statue has been dated on stylistic grounds to have been produced between 1375 and 1400.  The status of the foundation at Norton was raised from that of a priory to a mitred abbey in 1391, and it has been suggested by J. Patrick Greene, the director of the excavations in the 1970s and 1980s, that the statue may have been commissioned as a result of this.  The priory was dedicated to St Mary, and when its status was raised to that of an abbey, St Christopher was adopted as a subsidiary patron saint.  The sandstone was probably obtained from a quarry 1 mile (2 km) from the priory at Windmill Hill.  It is likely that the statue was carved at the priory, but the identity of the sculptor is not known.  The original position of the statue in the priory is uncertain. Greene suggested that it stood in the outer courtyard of the priory, where it is shown in a print dated 1727.  However, Marrow argued that it was probably originally placed at the west end of the abbey church.  He supports this by the fact that statues of St Christopher were sited at the west end of Notre Dame in Paris and the church in Terrington St Clement, Norfolk.  He also says that the crispness of the carving is consistent with the statue having been indoors for part of its existence.The Reformation was a period in which religious sculpture was attacked or destroyed, although some items survived because they were hidden and orders to destroy them were disobeyed.  At the end of this period "no more than a tiny fraction of such medieval sculpture remained".  The survival of this statue is considered to be "extraordinary".  Norton Priory was one of the first monasteries to be closed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.  However, while movable objects and materials were taken away, the statue, being "colossal and fragile" and probably built into the structure of the abbey, remained until the abbey and manor were sold to Sir Richard Brooke in 1545.  At some time it was moved, because in a print of 1727 it is shown outside the buildings in a courtyard.  The head of the Christ child was probably broken off during the Reformation, and its replacement is dated stylistically to between 1660 and 1685.  It is known that the statue was on view in 1636 because reference is made to it in a poem of that date, Iter Lancastrense, by Rev Richard James.At some stage the medieval paint was removed.  John Larson, who carried out conservation work on the statue, is of the opinion that it was removed deliberately at some time before about 1660 and a coat of wax, probably beeswax, was applied to give it a plainer and a "uniform dull brown appearance".  This may have made it "less offensive to Reformers".  No wax was found on the replacement head of the Christ child.  After the Restoration the statue was on display at the priory.  A print of Norton Priory by the Buck Brothers dated 1727 shows the statue displayed in front of the house in the outer courtyard.  A sketch plan drawn by a member of the Randle Holme family of Chester at some time between 1664 and 1678 shows that statue was already in this position at this earlier date.  Although it was outside the house, it stood against a wall and was sheltered to a degree by the overhanging upper storey; this would have given it some protection from weathering.  At some time between 1727 and 1757 the old house was demolished and it was replaced by a new house in neoclassical style.  The statue was moved into the garden, and it is likely that the blue-green paint was applied around this time to give it the appearance of a bronze garden sculpture.  A visitor's guide to Runcorn published in 1834 states "In the garden [of Norton Priory] is an antique gigantic figure of St. Christopher".The Brooke family left Norton Priory in 1921, leaving the statue behind.  The house was demolished in 1928, apart from a section of wall to which the statue was bolted.  By the 1960s, the statue had sunk into the ground and was damaged.  In 1964 it was given to Liverpool Museum, now part of National Museums Liverpool, and removed from the priory site because of worries about its security. In the 1990s it was taken to the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool where it underwent conservation and cleaning, including removal of the blue-green paint.  After work lasting three years it was returned to Norton Priory in September 1999.  The statue is on loan to Norton Priory Museum Trust until 2049.
National Museums Liverpool Christ Terrington St Clement Liverpool sandstone National Conservation Centre Reformation J. Patrick Greene Chester Priory abbey Dissolution of the Monasteries Buck Brothers neoclassical Restoration Runcorn bronze priory Randle Holme Norfolk Notre Dame Brooke family medieval Sir Richard Brooke beeswax Rev Richard James Norton Priory