Wayside cross on Trundle Lane

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.

Though missing part of its shaft and cross head, the wayside cross on Trundle Lane is a well-preserved and apparently in situ example which would have played an important role in religious festivals and other aspects of village life during the later Middle Ages. Its importance is increased by its relationship to a second wayside cross, located at the other end of the village.

Details

The monument is the wayside cross located on the west side of Trundle Lane at the junction with The Bank and Taining Lane. It includes the plinth, socle and shaft of the medieval cross. Originally there would also have been a cross head but this component is now missing. The socle or socket stone is a dressed magnesian limestone block with a base measurement of c.1m square and a height of 55cm. It is octagonal, with rounded stops on alternate faces, and sits on a chamfered magnesian limestone plinth measuring 1.1m square and 20cm high. In the top is a square socket hole into which is leaded the bottom section of the magnesian limestone cross shaft. This surviving section is 80cm tall and measures 30cm square for the first 60cm; then its corners taper to thin points which project a further 20cm up the sides of the shaft which, above the square section, is octagonal. The cross is Listed Grade II and is one of a pair in Fishlake located at either end of the village. The second cross, located in Pinfold Lane, is the subject of a separate scheduling. Although generally termed wayside crosses, there is a local tradition which claims that they were preaching crosses set up to mark places where, in the ninth century, St Cuthbert's body was set down during the funeral procession. This theory seems to be based on the dedication of the local Norman church to St Cuthbert.

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:

27203

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Morris, J E, West Riding of Yorkshire, (1932), 189

Other
Sketch on SMR file, PI 317, South Yorkshire Archaeological Service, (1977)
Shackleton Hill, Angela, (1994)

End of official list entry

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