Wayside cross called Killboy Cross

Reasons for Designation

Wayside crosses are one of several types of Christian cross erected during the medieval period, mostly from the 9th to 15th centuries AD. In addition to serving the function of reiterating and reinforcing the Christian faith amongst those who passed the cross and of reassuring the traveller, wayside crosses often fulfilled a role as waymarkers, especially in difficult and otherwise unmarked terrain. The crosses might be on regularly used routes linking ordinary settlements or on routes which might have a more specifically religious function, including providing access to religious sites for parishioners and funeral processions. Wayside crosses vary considerably in form and decoration but several regional types have been identified. The Cornish wayside crosses form one such group. The commonest type includes a round, or `wheel', head on the faces of which various forms of cross were carved. The design was sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ. Less common forms include the `Latin' cross, where the cross-head itself is shaped within the arms of an unenclosed cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low-relief cross on both faces. Over 400 crosses of all types are recorded in Cornwall. Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval routeways, settlement patterns and the development of sculptural traditions and their survival is somewhat differential because of periods of religious turbulence during the Reformation when many were subject to damage or partial destruction by iconoclasts. Despite having been moved on numerous occasions and being re-used as a gatepost, the wayside cross called Killboy Cross survives well and bears witness to a turbulent history. More unusually for Cornwall this is a Latin-shaped cross rather than the more usual wheel-headed cross type.

Details

The monument includes a wayside cross situated in the small valley of a tributary to the River Lerryn. The cross survives as a 1.1m high decorated Latin-shaped cross with a damaged head and chamfered angles to the arms and shaft. It is set into a modern circular base. The cross is decorated on each face with an incised Latin cross. It once stood on Braddock Down, marking a path to the church. It was recorded as missing by Langdon in 1896. By 1906 the rector of Braddock informed the Ordnance Survey that it had been dug up and re-erected. It is shown on the map of 1907 when it was in use as a gatepost before Miss Fortescue had it moved to its current location in 1914.

Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-432644

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

CO 247

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

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