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 Tregatheral Cross has survived reasonably well, and is a good example of a
wheel-headed cross. Its original function was probably as a boundary marker
between two parishes. Its former reuse as a gatepost and its removal to the
churchyard earlier this century demonstrates 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 Tregatheral
Cross, situated to the east of the church in St Juliot's churchyard on the
north coast of Cornwall.
The Tregatheral Cross survives as an upright granite shaft with a round,
`wheel' head set in a rectangular base. The overall height of the monument is
1.65m. The principal faces are orientated east-west. The head measures 0.4m
high by 0.5m wide and is 0.12m thick. Both principal faces bear a relief
Latin cross, the lower limb extending down the top of the shaft. At the
intersection of the limbs is a 0.02m diameter shallow hole. The shaft measures
1.03m high by 0.38m wide and is 0.15m thick. On the south side of the shaft
there is a 0.02m diameter hole, 0.03m deep, 0.55m above the base, a result of
the former reuse of the cross as a gatepost. The modern base measures 1.09m
north-south by 0.99m east-west and is 0.22m thick. This base consists of
blocks of granite and slate cemented together to form a base for the cross.
The shaft is cemented into the base.
The Tregatheral Cross is located to the east of the church. It was discovered
in 1952 in use as a gatepost, its head buried in the ground, at an old mill on
Tregatheral Farm, Minster. Tregatheral Farm is 2.5km to the south west of St
Juliot's Church. The cross was brought by the churchwarden and re-erected in
January 1952 in its present position in St Juliot's churchyard. This wayside
cross probably marked the parish boundary between Lesnewth and Minster.
Tregatheral Farm is close to this boundary.
The grave with its granite headstone and kerb surround to the east of the
cross and the grave with its headstone to the south west where they lie within
the protective margin of the cross, are excluded from the scheduling but 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.
