The Slayer's Slab is a title given to a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

gravestone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, ...

formerly in the graveyard of

Lyminster Lyminster is a village that is the main settlement of Lyminster and Crossbush civil parish, in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It borders, to the south, Littlehampton, which has its town centre away. Landmarks Church The Church of E ...

church in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It has now been moved inside the church to protect it from weathering. According to legend it is the gravestone of the dragonslayer who killed the

Knucker Knucker is a dialect word for a sort of water dragon, living in ''knuckerholes'' in Sussex, England. "The word comes from the Old English '' nicor'' which means "water monster" and is used in the poem ''Beowulf''. It may also be related to the ...

who lived in the nearby knuckerhole. The stone has a cross on it overlaying a

herringbone pattern The herringbone pattern is an arrangement of rectangles used for floor tilings and road pavement, so named for a fancied resemblance to the bones of a fish such as a herring. The blocks can be rectangles or parallelograms. The block edge leng ...

, but no inscription to identify the tomb's occupant.

References

Monuments and memorials in West Sussex Stones {{UK-hist-stub