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 Anderton Mill Cross has survived reasonably well, and is a good example of
a wheel-headed cross. It may be an early form of this type of cross as the
wheel head is indicated by indentations at the neck, and the head and shaft
are of similar widths. Its original function was probably as a boundary marker
between two parishes. Its former reuse as a gatepost and its removal to the
churchyard in the 19th century demonstrate well the changing attitudes to
religion and their impact on the local landscape since the Reformation.
This is one of three crosses now present in St Juliot's churchyard.
Details
The monument includes a medieval wayside cross known as the Anderton Mill
Cross, situated to the north of the church in St Juliot's churchyard on the
north coast of Cornwall.
The Anderton Mill Cross survives as an upright granite shaft with a round,
`wheel' head. The overall height of the monument is 1.65m. The principal faces
are orientated north-south. The head measures 0.52m high by 0.59m wide and is
0.16m thick. Both principal faces bear a relief Latin cross, the lower limb
extending down to the top of the shaft. The top of the head on the south face
has been fractured and the top limb of the cross is missing. There is a narrow
bead 0.04m wide around the edge of both principal faces terminating at the
neck. The head is slightly wider than the shaft, and the neck is indicated by
an indentation to either side. The shaft measures 1.13m high by 0.52m wide at
the base widening slightly to 0.56m at the top and is 0.16m thick at the base
widening slightly to 0.19m at the neck. There is a 0.06m diameter lead filled
hole with a lump of iron embedded in it 1.02m above ground level on the north
face of the shaft. Also on this face are two holes lower down on the shaft:
one is 0.05m in diameter by 0.03m deep and is 0.28m above ground level; the
other is 0.07m in diameter and also contains a lump of iron embedded in lead
and is 0.15m above ground level. There is another lead filled hole on the
south face of the shaft, 0.66m above ground level, 0.06m in diameter with a
lump of iron embedded in it. These holes are the result of the former reuse
of the cross as a gatepost, the iron lumps in some of the holes are the
remains of the gate fittings.
The Anderton Mill Cross is located by the north entrance to the churchyard at
St Juliot. It was removed in 1852 from Anderton Mill on the Lesnewth side of
the parish boundary between the parishes of St Juliot and Lesnewth. Anderton
Mill is 0.75km to the east of St Juliot's church. This wayside cross probably
marked the parish boundary between Lesnewth and St Juliot.
The gravel surface of the footpath passing to the east of the cross but within
its protective margin is excluded from the scheduling although the ground
beneath is included.
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.
