Reasons for Designation
High crosses, frequently heavily decorated, were erected in a variety of
locations in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries AD. They are found
throughout northern England with a few examples further south. Surviving
examples are of carved stone but it is known that decorated timber crosses
were also used for similar purposes and some stone crosses display evidence of
carpentry techniques in their creation and adornment, attesting to this
tradition. High crosses have shafts supporting carved cross heads which may be
either free-armed or infilled with a 'wheel' or disc. They may be set within
dressed or rough stone bases called socles. The cross heads were frequently
small, the broad cross shaft being the main feature of the cross.
High crosses served a variety of functions, some being associated with
established churches and monasteries and playing a role in religious services,
some acting as cenotaphs or marking burial places, and others marking routes
or boundaries and acting as meeting places for local communities. Decoration
of high crosses divides into four main types: plant scrolls, plaiting and
interlace, birds and animals and, lastly, figural representation which is the
rarest category and often takes the form of religious iconography. The carved
ornamentation was often painted in a variety of colours though traces of these
pigments now survive only rarely. The earliest high crosses were created and
erected by the native population, probably under the direction of the Church,
but later examples were often commissioned by secular patrons and reflect the
art styles and mythology of Viking settlers.
Several distinct regional groupings and types of high cross have been
identified, some being the product of single schools of craftsmen. There are
fewer than 50 high crosses surviving in England and this is likely to
represent only a small proportion of those originally erected. Some were
defaced or destroyed during bouts of iconoclasm during the 16th and 17th
centuries. Others fell out of use and were taken down and reused in new
building works. They provide important insights into art traditions and
changing art styles during the early medieval period, into religious beliefs
during the same era and into the impact of the Scandinavian settlement of the
north of England. All well-preserved examples are identified as nationally
important.
Details
The monument is located in the south east area of St Laurence's churchyard and
is a Grade I Listed Anglian high cross dating probably to the eighth century
AD. It includes a tapering rectangular shaft surmounted by a free-armed cross
head and is mortared into a pillow-shaped gritstone base or socle which is of
a much later date.
The angles of both the shaft and cross head are edged with flat-band mouldings
which create panels for the raised decoration covering all the faces of both
cross head and shaft. Both typical and rarer forms of adornment are
represented and, on the shaft, include plant scrolls and leaves on its east
face, interlace patterns on its south and north faces and more interlace on
the lower half of its west face. On the upper half of the west face are
figural carvings enclosed in two panels by roll moulding. The uppermost
contains a depiction of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus on her lap with
one hand raised in blessing. The lower contains a second figure holding what
appears to be a swaddled baby in its arms. This may also be a representation
of the Virgin and Child though the adult figure appears to be male. The cross
head, which is intact, has rounded spandrels and squared terminals. Both faces
have a decorated circular panel at the centre defined by roll moulding. Every
flat surface of the cross head is decorated with figural carvings except for
the side panels of the upper arm which contain interlace. All the figures are
angels carrying objects which appear to be trumpets though this is not
entirely clear. No accurate measurements are available but the cross head is
approximately 75cm high and broad while the shaft is currently c.1.75m tall.
However, the abrupt truncation of the decoration at the base of the shaft
indicates that part of the original visible height is hidden inside the later
socle while the loss of the Virgin's head from the carving on the west side
indicates that part of the upper portion of the shaft is missing. This is
supported by the fact that the cross head is out of proportion with the shaft
and it is likely that the shaft was originally at least 2m tall. The cross's
iconographic adornment and its location in a churchyard suggests that it
played a role in the church liturgy during the Anglo-Saxon period. Excluded
from the scheduling are the graves contained in the area of the scheduling and
the chain fence round the cross, although the ground underneath these features
is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
23343
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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 Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
