Wayside cross 100m south east of Tretheague House

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 not being in its original location, the wayside cross 100mm south east of Tretheague House is highly decorative which adds to its typological and stylistic significance. It survives well, despite its emersion in running water for a prolonged period.

Details

The monument includes a wayside cross, situated in the edge of a field near to a road in the upper valley of the River Kennal close to a bridge. It was discovered in the bed of the river beneath the northern arch of the bridge in 1921, and was thought to have originally stood on a small island beside this bridge. The cross survives as a decorated wheel-head and shaft set into a modern socket stone. It measures up to 1.4m high. The head is decorated with an equal-armed cross in relief within a circular relief moulding on both side,s and there are projecting lugs above the shaft. The shaft is incised with intersecting decoration on all four sides.

The cross is Listed Grade II (66279).

Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-427624

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

CO 209

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

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