Reasons for Designation
A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone,
mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD).
Standing crosses served a variety of functions. In churchyards they served as
stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm
Sunday. Elsewhere, standing crosses were used within settlements as places for
preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of
sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between
parishes, property, or settlements. A few crosses were erected to commemorate
battles. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and
protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market
places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some
crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for
example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the
scenes of games or recreational activity.
Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have
numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation
has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and
religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by
iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval
standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The
oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft
often set directly in the ground without a base. The most common form is the
stepped cross, in which the shaft is set in a socket stone and raised upon a
flight of steps; this type of cross remained current from the 11th to 12th
centuries until after the Reformation. Where the cross-head survives it may
take a variety of forms, from a lantern-like structure to a crucifix; the more
elaborate examples date from the 15th century. Much less common than stepped
crosses are spire-shaped crosses, often composed of three or four receding
stages with elaborate architectural decoration and/or sculptured figures; the
most famous of these include the Eleanor crosses, erected by Edward I at the
stopping places of the funeral cortege of his wife, who died in 1290. Also
uncommon are the preaching crosses which were built in public places from the
13th century, typically in the cemeteries of religious communities and
cathedrals, market places and wide thoroughfares; they include a stepped base,
buttresses supporting a vaulted canopy, in turn carrying either a shaft and
head or a pinnacled spire. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our
understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our
knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which
survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their
original location, are considered worthy of protection.
Although the original cross 20m south of Chittlehampton church was removed
from the socket stone, the socket stone itself still remains in the churchyard
at Chittlehampton and, unusually contains a precise replica of the original
cross, now located elsewhere.
Details
This monument includes a churchyard cross standing 20m south of Chittlehampton
church and 5m north west of the lychgate. The monument survives as a socket
stone, mounted upon a plinth with two brick steps to the eastern side, and a
replica stone cross which replaces the original one. This was removed by the
Rolle family and is now in a wayside location (Hudscott Cross) nearby.
The socket stone is thought to date to the 14th or 15th centuries. It is a
tall stone, square at the base, octagonal above and with corner shoulders,
each of which is grooved down the centre. It measures 0.79m square by 0.52m
high and the socket hole is 0.42m square. The socket stone seems to have a
brick foundation and there are two brick steps up to it on the eastern side.
This brick foundation measures 1.4m long by 0.82m wide and 0.33m high and is
built into the sloping hillside of the churchyard. The socket stone now
appears to have an inscription applied to the eastern side, probably
dedicating the cross to a particular rector, although this is now almost
illegible, and does not appear to have damaged the socket stone.
Within the socket stone a replica of the nearby Hudscott Cross was placed in
1909. This is a Latin cross with a collar just below the arms, a tapering
shaft and an incised Latin cross decoration on the eastern side. The cross is
square at the base, approximately 0.42m thick and tapers upwards. Beneath the
arms is the collar which is 0.32m thick. The arms are 0.56m wide, the width of
the head is some 0.3m and the cross is 1.9m high. The cross shaped recess on
the eastern side is 0.05m wide at the base, 0.2m wide at the arms, 0.3m long
and 0.02m deep.
The cross is Listed Grade II.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
