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 within 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.
Shaugh Prior village cross is an impressive and well-preserved medieval
wayside cross, having suffered relatively little damage.
Details
The monument includes a well-preserved wayside cross formed from a single
piece of moderately coarse-grained granite, set into a granite socket stone.
Both cross and socket stone are set into the west face of a hedge between a
junction of minor roads and the entrance to the former vicarage (called
Crossgates on the Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 map), about 150m east of the parish
church. Most of the east face of the cross is not visible, being set against
the hedge. The west face of the cross is more or less flush with the hedge.
The visible portion of the cross is 1.7m high. The shaft is rectangular in
section measuring 0.33m by 0.25m, though it tapers slightly to 0.31m under the
arms. The edges of the shaft, arms and head all have chamfers about 50mm wide.
There are crude `stops' under the arms. The head, which has a flat top,
extends 0.17m above the arms.
The arms of the cross, which are aligned more or less north-south, have a
total width of 0.65m. The southern arm extends 0.175m from the shaft and is
0.27m deep. The northern arm extends 0.16m and is 0.25m deep. An irregular
portion, approximately 0.14m by 0.13m, has been broken off the underside of
the southern arm. An iron clamp which formerly bound the west face of the
southern arm to the west face of the shaft has been removed, but a slot is
still visible and the end holes have been plugged with cement. A metal clamp
has been used in repair on the eastern side of the shaft. The southern arm
and part of the head of the cross have been broken off in the past and have
been repaired with an iron clamp across the top of the head of the cross,
fixed with lead and cement.
The socket stone is of similar granite to the cross. Its visible portion
measures 1.06m by 0.43m by 0.26m deep. The stone protrudes from the hedgebank
into the roadway about 0.4m. The underside of the socket stone, which rests
on a composite stone platform, is about 0.7m above the road surface.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
