Week Barn Cross

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.

The wayside cross on the southern side of the road between North Tawton and Sampford Courtenay survives well and forms an outlier to a group of crosses in and around Sampford Courtenay. Although the cross is not in its original position, the circumstances of its removal and the location from which it was taken, are all well documented.

Details

The monument includes a wayside cross known as Week Barn Cross on the southern side of the road between North Tawton and Sampford Courtenay standing 300m south west of Taw Bridge Cross. The cross was moved to its present position during a road improvement scheme but is believed to be very near to its original location. The cross is roughly octagonal in section and trimmed at the back. One of the arms has been broken off. The shaft measures 0.27m wide at the base and tapers to 0.23m. The width at the arms is 0.44m, although this would have originally been greater. The cross is 1.73m high. A drill hole in the eastern side of the shaft indicates that it was probably used as a gatepost at one time. The cross is Listed Grade II.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

27316

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Masson Phillips, E, Devonshire Association Transactions in The Ancient Stone Crosses of Devon : Part 1, Vol. 69, (1936-37), 333

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS60SE-015, (1982)
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1994)

End of official list entry

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