Three wayside crosses 235m south east of Bosvathick
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1006665
- Date first listed:
- 22-Mar-1932
- Location Description:
- Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Map
© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2021. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
Use of this data is subject to Terms and Conditions.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1006665.pdf
The PDF will be generated from our live systems and may take a few minutes to download depending on how busy our servers are. We apologise for this delay.
This copy shows the entry on 24-Jan-2021 at 20:00:13.
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- Location Description:
- Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
- District:
- Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Constantine
- National Grid Reference:
- SW 75353 30147
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 their original locations, the three wayside crosses 235m south east of Bosvathick survive comparatively well and are each subtly different in terms of size and decoration. Together they form an interesting group within a garden, and their relocation here has ensured their continued survival.
Details
The monument includes three wayside crosses, set into a rockery close to the drive and beside a pool, in the grounds of Bosvathick. All three crosses survive as earthfast ,decorated wheel-headed crosses on various lengths of rectangular section shafts. The first cross stands to approximately1m high. Its head is decorated on the front with a Latin cross in relief and with a similar incised-outline of a cross on the rear. It was moved to the garden from Trewoon, although its original location is unknown.
The second cross is 0.9m high. Its head is decorated on both sides by an equal-armed cross in relief. It was moved to the garden from nearby Bosvarren where it once stood in a field.
The third cross measures up to 0.7m high. Its head is decorated on the front with an equal armed cross in relief, and to the reverse with an incised similarly shaped cross. This cross was also brought from Trewoon although its original location is not known.
Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-427716
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- CO 197
- 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.
End of official listing