Wayside cross in Newlyn churchyard, south 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 head has survived well and is a good example of the uncommon `Latin' cross type. It is also a rare example of a `Latin' cross with a figure of Christ motif. Its burial, rediscovery and re-erection in the churchyard at Newlyn illustrates well the changing attitudes to religion and their impact on the local landscape since the Reformation period.

Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross situated to the south of the church at Newlyn in the far west of Cornwall. The wayside cross is visible as an upright granite head mounted on a modern granite shaft and base. The head has unenclosed arms, a form called a `Latin' cross, with its principal faces orientated north-south. The overall height of the monument is 1.96m. The head measures 0.47m high by 0.29m wide and is 0.28m thick. Both principal faces are decorated. The south face bears a relief figure of Christ with outstretched arms, the head inclined to the west; the lower part of the body is truncated by a fracture. The north face bears a relief equal limbed cross. The head is cemented onto a modern shaft, set in a socket in a roughly rectangular base. This cross was dug up in a field at Trereife 1.25km north west of the church around 1870. It remained in the grounds of Trereife for several years, eventually being given to the vicar of Newlyn. The vicar placed the cross on a rock over a cave, beside the road which passes to the south of the church. Later it was moved to the churchyard and erected on a modern shaft and base in its present location. The metalled surface of the modern drive passing to the south of the cross is excluded from the scheduling, where it falls within the protective margin, although 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:

30406

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Langdon, A G, Old Cornish Crosses, (1896)

Other
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SW 32/42; Pathfinder Series 1368 Source Date: 1980 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Consulted July 1996, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN No. 18802.3,

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