Cross and well at Condicote 65m south west of St Nicholas's 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.

The wayside cross at Condicote survives well, and, with the exception of the cross head, with all of its original elements intact in what is likely to be its original location. The cross is erected over a dip well, and the area of cross and well obviously played an important part in the life of the village community.

Details

The monument includes a cross and well situated on a roadside verge at Condicote. The cross and well lie on the west side of the village pound. The cross has a three step square clavary, a socket stone, and a shaft with a cross on top. The first step of the calvary is 2.5m wide north-south and 2.2m wide east-west. It is 0.2m high. The west side of the first step is partly buried. The second step is 1.9m wide and 0.25m high, and the third step is 1.25m wide and 0.2m high. The third step is slightly raised in its centre to form a small platform 0.8m wide and 0.05m high which provides a seat for the socket stone. The socket stone has a square base and chamfered corners which produce an octagonal top to the stone. It is 0.8m long and 0.55m high with a square socket at its centre measuring 0.3m across. The c.2m high square shaft tapers to the restored cross head. The shaft, socket stone and calvary appear to be made of the same stone. The well head abuts the east side of the cross and extends for some 2m to the east of it as seen on the surface by some brickwork and the stone slabs which cover the well. However, there appears to be buried stone which extends its length to 2.4m from the edge of the cross base. Similarly, the surface width of the well head is 1.25m, but would appear to extend under the surface to the full width of the cross base. There is an iron ring in one of the stone slabs, and a square socket in another. In 1864 the then Rector, the Reverend W B Notten Pole, erected a new shaft for the cross, topped with an ornamental cross as a finial. The finial was subsequently destroyed and replaced in 1888. This one was broken in 1961, and the present cross was erected in the mid 1970s. There are inscriptions on the east, west and north sides of the socket stone. The one on the east says `Ho everyone that thirstith come ye to the waters'; the inscription on the west side refers to the restoration of the cross by the Reverend W B Notten Pole in 1862, and the inscription on the north face states that the well is reserved for use by inhabitants of the parish. The calvary is constructed from stone blocks. The socket stone is hewn from one piece of stone as is the shaft. The cross is considered to be 14th century. The well is reputedly contemporary with the cross and known as a dip or clipwell. It was fitted with a pair of doors in 1868, but is now covered with stone slabs. The cross and well are Listed Grade II.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

28802

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Pooley, C, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, (1868), 71

Other
Notes on village notice board,

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