St. Cuthbert’s Beads
These beads were made from the single joints of the articulated stems of Encrinites. The central perforation permitted them to be strung. From the fancied resemblance of this perforation to a cross, they were formerly used as rosaries, and associated with the name of St. Cuthbert—
“On a rock by Lindisfarm
St. Cuthbert sits and toils to frame
The sea-born beads that bear his name.”