Churchyard cross in St Phillip and St James'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.

The remains of the churchyard cross at St Phillip and St James's Church represent a good example of a medieval standing cross with a square stepped base. It occupies a prominent position to the south east of the south porch and is believed to stand in or near its original position. The addition of the sundial demonstrates the continued function of the cross as a public monument and amenity.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a standing stone cross located approximately 10m to the south east of the south porch of St Phillip and St James's Church. The cross, which is Listed Grade II, is medieval in date with later additions. It includes a base of two steps and a socket stone, part of the shaft, a modern stone capital and a sundial. The base is square in plan and is constructed from grey sandstone blocks, similar to those used in the construction of the church. The top of the bottom step measures 2m square and lies level with the ground surface. The top step measures 1.5m square and 0.3m high. The socket stone rests on the top step and measures 0.84m square at the base. At a height of 0.54m the sides bevel up to a smaller square with a raised octagon on the surface. The full height of the socket stone is 0.8m. A simple ogee headed niche in the west face of the socket stone is thought to have been carved to hold the Pyx or Holy Water when Mass was celebrated at the cross, or to hold a statue or icon. The shaft is mortised into the socket stone and bonded with lead. It is 0.28m square at the base and rises through chamfered corners in tapering octagonal section to a height of 0.6m. On top of the shaft is a modern circular capital, constructed from red sandstone, with a circular, bronze sundial attached to the surface by lead and iron rivets. The capital measures 0.28m in diameter and 0.22m high and the sundial has a diameter of 0.26m. The overall height of the monument is 1.92m. The gravemarker immediately to the south of the cross is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 1 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:

29876

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, , An Inventory of Historical Monuments in Herefordshire, (1930), 183
Marples, B, Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists Field Club in The Niche in Medieval Churchyard Crosses, Vol. 40, (1972), 321-332

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