Churchyard cross in St Lawrence's churchyard

Reasons for Designation

A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone, mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD). Standing crosses served a variety of functions. In churchyards they served as stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm Sunday. Elsewhere, standing crosses were used within settlements as places for preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between parishes, property, or settlements. A few crosses were erected to commemorate battles. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the scenes of games or recreational activity. Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft often set directly in the ground without a base. The most common form is the stepped cross, in which the shaft is set in a socket stone and raised upon a flight of steps; this type of cross remained current from the 11th to 12th centuries until after the Reformation. Where the cross-head survives it may take a variety of forms, from a lantern-like structure to a crucifix; the more elaborate examples date from the 15th century. Much less common than stepped crosses are spire-shaped crosses, often composed of three or four receding stages with elaborate architectural decoration and/or sculptured figures; the most famous of these include the Eleanor crosses, erected by Edward I at the stopping places of the funeral cortege of his wife, who died in 1290. Also uncommon are the preaching crosses which were built in public places from the 13th century, typically in the cemeteries of religious communities and cathedrals, market places and wide thoroughfares; they include a stepped base, buttresses supporting a vaulted canopy, in turn carrying either a shaft and head or a pinnacled spire. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their original location, are considered worthy of protection.

Despite the shaft having been broken, the standing cross in the churchyard at Didmarton survives well in what is likely to be its original location. It has the unusual feature of four half figures, supposedly the four Evangelists, carved on alternate faces of the socket stone. The medieval cross relates to the church which, because of the construction of a new Victorian church in the village, is a good example of a medieval church in its 18th century condition.

Details

The monument includes a restored cross situated in St Lawrence's churchyard, Didmarton some 6m north of the church. The cross, which is Listed Grade II, has a square base above which is a square plinth, a socket stone, and a broken shaft. The base is 1.42m long and 0.3m high. Above this the square socket stone sits on a small plinth 0.94m long and 0.19m high. The socket stone has broaches at its angles, forming an octagonal top. It is 0.75m wide and 0.38m high. The broaches are now very worn, but are carved in the form of four half figures, which are thought to represent the four Evangelists. The broken octagonal shaft is 0.85m high and tapers slightly. The octagonal base of the shaft fits into the square socket with the aid of lead braces and mortared infill. The Rev E J Everard, who went to the parish as incumbent in 1842, found that the whole of the base of the cross and part of the shaft were invisible under an accumulation of earth. Having disinterred the whole, he had the cross raised on two steps of stone set diagonally. Thus the ancient part of the cross ends with the basement figures, and is considered to be 14th century.

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:

28530

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds, (1970), 210
Pooley, C, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, (1868), 57

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