Ann's Cross wayside cross on bowl barrow 800m south east of Foster Howes

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.

Bowl barrows are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. A substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Ann's Cross wayside cross survives well with the fragment of the head to indicate its type and style. It marks one of the medieval routes known as the Pannierman's Causeway which connected Hackness and Whitby.

Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross known as Ann's Cross and the bowl barrow on which it is set on Sneaton High Moor. The cross marks an old way known as the Pannierman's Causeway from Hackness to Whitby. The cross is Listed Grade II. Both the cross and barrow are included in the scheduling. The cross consists of a base and shaft made of fine yellow sandstone. The base is squared and is 0.76m wide and 0.51m high. At a point 0.31m above ground the base has been chamfered to the socket. The socket is 0.36m wide at the east face and 0.28m wide at the north face. The shaft is poorly fitted into the socket and is 0.27m wide on the east face and 0.24m wide on the north face. The shaft is 1.04m high and broken off at the top. This is also broken and repaired at a point 0.56m below the apex. Beside the cross is a portion of the broken shaft showing the slight curve of the cross head on one edge. This stone is 0.36m wide and partly embedded in the ground. The cross is set into the top of a bowl barrow which is 18m in diameter with a ditch 2m wide around the base. There are faint traces of a stone kerb at the base of the barrow. The barrow mound is 1.2m high. The cross marks the way known as the Pannierman's Causeway as well as marking the boundary between the medieval parishes of Goathland and Sneaton.

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.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

25651

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hayes, R H, Old Roads and Pannierways in North East Yorkshire, (1988), 31

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