Wayside cross 230m south west of Trenlanvean Farm

Overview

Location

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 fallen and been re-erected, the wayside cross 230m south west of Trenlanvean Farm survives comparatively well and is likely to be close to its original location marking a long distance route linking farmsteads and settlements to both the church at St Keverne and the coast it also retains much of its original decoration.

Details

The monument includes a wayside cross, situated in the corner of a field beside a long distance path linking several farms and settlements to the coast at Kennack Sands and St Keverne church. The cross survives as a decorated wheel-head and shaft set into a hedge. The cross stands to a height of 1.6m and leans markedly. The head is decorated on both sides with a cross design in relief with a hollow at the centre. The corners of the sides of the shaft have a reverse chamfer. The field in which the cross stands is called 'Cross Close' on the Tithe Apportionment of 1845. It was described in 1896 by Langdon, who noted it had been knocked over in 1830 and re-erected in 1880.

Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-426431

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

CO 208

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.