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.
Details
The monument includes a medieval wayside cross situated in Altarnun churchyard
in north Cornwall.
The wayside cross survives as a round, `wheel' head set on a modern granite
shaft and base. The overall height of the monument is 2.06m. The granite head
measures 0.53m high by 0.56m wide and is 0.22m thick. Both principal faces of
the head bear a relief equal limbed cross, the cross on the north west face
having a marked inclination to the left. The head is cemented onto the shaft.
The rectangular-section shaft measures 1.36m high, 0.41m wide at the base
tapering to 0.34m at the top, and is 0.27m thick at the base tapering to 0.2m
at the top. The hexagonal base measures 0.85m north east-south west by 0.87m
north west-south east and stands 0.17m above ground level.
The cross is located in the churchyard at Altarnun close to the south east
entrance to the churchyard. The historian Langdon in 1896 illustrated the head
resting on a round base, and stated that it was located on the south side of
the church. Around 1905 the cross-head was re-erected on a modern shaft and
base in its present location. The cross is said to date from the sixth century
when St Nonna came across from Wales and set up a religious settlement on a
site to the north east of the present church. It has been dated to the 10th -
11th centuries by the historian Nash-Williams.
The metalled surface of the footpaths passing to the south west and the
north east of the cross and the granite gravestone and surrounding kerb to the
north are excluded from the scheduling where they fall within the protective
margin of the cross, but the ground beneath is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
26250
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
