Wayside cross in St Enoder churchyard

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 Fraddon Cross has survived well, and is a good example of a wheel-headed cross. It acted as a way marker on a route from St Enoder to Fraddon. The removal and re-erection of the cross in the churchyard at St Enoder in the 19th century demonstrates well changing attitudes to religion that have prevailed since the medieval period and the impact of those changes on the local landscape.

Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross, known as the Fraddon Cross, situated to the south of the church in St Enoder churchyard in central Cornwall. The Fraddon Cross survives as an upright granite shaft with a round, `wheel' head, standing to a height of 0.99m. The principal faces are orientated north-south. The head measures 0.53m high by 0.48m wide and is 0.18m thick. Both principal faces are decorated: the north face bears an equal limbed cross formed by four triangular sinkings in the areas between the limbs; the south face bears a sunken equal limbed cross, with the areas between the limbs left in relief. This cross has a marked inclination to the right. At the neck are two rounded projections which extend 0.03m to either side of the shaft. The shaft measures 0.59m high by 0.37m wide and is 0.16m thick. The Fraddon Cross is located to the west of the south entrance into the churchyard. This cross was found buried head down by the road from St Enoder to Fraddon with its base stone standing beside it. In 1879 the cross was relocated to the north side of the churchyard at St Enoder. Its base stone may be the base stone built into the church porch. In 1893 the cross was re-erected in its present position on the south side of the churchyard. The grave with its headstone to the south west of the cross and the gravel surface of the footpath passing to the east, where they lie within the protective margin of the cross, are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath is included. This 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:

28461

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Langdon, A, Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall, (1994)
Langdon, A G, Old Cornish Crosses, (1896)

Other
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SW 85/95; Pathfinder 1353 Source Date: 1983 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Consulted 1995, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 22258,

End of official list entry

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