Wayside cross in Sampford Courtenay village 55m NNW of Cherrywell Cottages

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.

Despite not being in its original position, the wayside cross 55m NNW of Cherrywell Cottages survives well and is one of a group of five in the village, an unusual concentration in this area.

Details

This monument includes a wayside cross situated beside a road junction between Southey Lane and an unclassified road to Belstone Corner, 55m NNW of Cherrywell Cottages, in the village of Sampford Courtenay. The cross is of octagonal section and the shaft tapers upwards. At the base it measures 0.34m in diameter and tapers to 0.28m at the top of the shaft. The arms and head are also of octagonal section, and the arms measure 0.76m wide by 0.23m thick. The cross is 2.1m high and at a height of 0.68m there is a break in the cross where it has been repaired. The cross is of a type common to Devon and thought to date to the 14th to 15th centuries. The cross was re-erected at some time after 1900 by Kings College, Cambridge, the lords of the manor. It had been found in 1900 in a cottage at Mount Ivy, which was being demolished. The cross shaft was being used as a fireplace jamb and the cross head had been built into the chimney. The cross is in a very prominent location and is one of a group recorded within the village. The cross is Listed Grade II.

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:

27309

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), 335

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS60SW-033, (1972)
Clayton,C, (1994)
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1994)

End of official list entry

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