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 having a more specifically religious
function, including those providing access to religious sites for parishioners
and funeral processions, or marking long-distance routes frequented on
pilgrimages.
Over 350 wayside crosses are known nationally, concentrated in south-west
England throughout Cornwall and on Dartmoor where they form the commonest type
of stone cross. A small group also occurs on the North York Moors. Relatively
few examples have been recorded elsewhere and these are generally confined to
remote moorland locations.
Outside Cornwall almost all wayside crosses take the form of a 'latin' cross,
in which the cross-head itself is shaped with the projecting arms of an
unenclosed cross. In Cornwall wayside crosses vary considerably in form and
decoration. The commonest type includes a round, or 'wheel', head on the faces
of which various forms of cross or related designs were carved in relief or
incised, the spaces between the cross arms possibly pierced. The design was
sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ and the shaft might bear
decorative panels and motifs. Less common forms in Cornwall include the
'Latin' cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low relief cross on both
faces. Rare examples of wheel-head and slab-form crosses also occur within the
North York Moors group. Most wayside crosses have either a simple socketed
base or show no evidence for a separate base at all.
Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval
religious customs and sculptural traditions and to our knowledge of medieval
routeways and settlement patterns. All wayside crosses which survive as earth-
fast monuments, except those which are extremely damaged and removed from
their original locations, are considered worthy of protection.
Details
The monument is the southernmost example of two medieval wayside crosses
located on either side of Fox Lane approximately 450m apart. It comprises a
chiselled sandstone cross set into a square socket hole in a roughly dressed
rectangular socle or cross base which measures 30cm high by 105cm north-south
by 87cm east-west. The arms and top section of a somewhat eroded but largely
intact cross head form a single unit with the cross shaft which is of
rectangular section and tapers slightly towards the top. Its maximum width is
38cm north-south by 25cm east-west and it stands 188cm above the socle though
it may, originally, have been slightly taller. Fox Lane is a modern road which
follows an ancient route across Ramsley Moor in the East Moors of the Peak
District. A number of hollow ways flanking the lane represent the remains of
the earlier route served by the two crosses.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
23338
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
