Wayside cross in St Allen churchyard, 2m south west of the church

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.

This wayside cross in St Allen churchyard has survived reasonably well and is a good example of a wheel headed cross. It has unusual decoration with an incised Latin cross linking four indentations on one face. Its reuse as a step and subsequent removal to the churchyard at St Allen and re-erection there demonstrates well the changing attitudes to religion that have prevailed since the Reformation and the impact of these changes on the local landscape.

Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross situated to the south west of the church at St Allen in west Cornwall. This is one of three crosses now present in the churchyard.

The wayside cross, which is Listed Grade II, survives as an upright granite shaft with a round, `wheel' head mounted on a modern granite base. The overall height of the monument is 1.24m. The principal faces are orientated north east-south west. The head measures 0.54m high by 0.64m wide and is 0.31m thick. Both principal faces are decorated. The south west face bears a cross in light relief, with slightly expanded ends to the upper and lower limbs. The lower limb extends down the length of the shaft. The north east face is decorated with four shallow indentations, 0.06m in diameter by 0.03m deep. One indentation is at the centre of the head, one is at the top and the other two are either side of the central indentation. These indentations are joined by two incised lines forming a cross shape; the vertical line continues down the length of the shaft. The shaft measures 0.2m high by 0.46m wide and is 0.33m thick. The shaft is cemented into a large, rectangular block of granite measuring 0.61m north west-south east by 0.48m north east-south west, and is 0.5m high. There is a plaque on the base with an inscription which reads `This cross taken from Trefronick was presented and erected here by Obed Lanyon, of this parish 1911'.

The historian Langdon in 1896 recorded that this cross was in use as a step at the back door of Trefronick farmhouse, 1km north of St Allen church. In 1909 Langdon visited Trefronick and arranged with the owner, Mr Lanyon for the stone to be removed and restored. In 1911 the cross was re-erected in the churchyard on a modern base.

The gravel surface of the footpath passing to the south west and south east of the cross, falls within its protective margin and is 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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

29208

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:

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