Stone cross SW of church

Summary

Standing cross 75m south-west of Sampford Spiney church.

Reasons for Designation

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and, because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone, mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD). Standing crosses served a variety of functions and within settlements they could be places for preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between parishes, property, or settlements. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the scenes of games or recreational activity. Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft often set directly in the ground without a base. Where the cross-head survives they most commonly take the form of a Latin cross. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their original location, are considered worthy of protection. Despite minor damage the standing cross 75m south west of Sampford Spiney church survives extremely well and bears witness to the fact that it was held in high regard despite times of religious upheaval when many such iconoclastic images suffered considerable damage or destruction.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17 November 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes a standing cross situated on the village green in the heart of Sampford Spiney close to the parish church. The cross survives as a tall, slender slightly tapering Latin cross set into a boulder. The cross stands up to 2.3m high and measures 0.5m wide across the arms. The cross is square at the base and octagonal above. There is slight damage to one arm and a vertical crack in the head. It was moved to its current position from a nearby hedge.

The cross is listed at Grade II.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

DV 941

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-440435

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