Wayside cross in the churchyard of the parish church of Mabe, 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 has survived well as a good example of a `wheel' headed cross with a `Latin' cross motif on both principal faces. Its relocation in the churchyard at Mabe illustrates well the changing attitudes to religion and their impact on the local landscape since the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross situated to the south of the church in Mabe churchyard in west Cornwall. The wayside cross, which is listed Grade II, survives as an upright granite shaft with a round `wheel' head, the shaft mounted in a modern granite base. The overall height of the monument is 0.99m. The principal faces are orientated east-west. The head measures 0.37m wide and is 0.14m thick. Both principal faces bear a relief `Latin' cross, the lower limb extending down onto the top of the shaft. The lower limb on the west face terminates near the top of the shaft, while that on the east face terminates close to the base of the shaft. There is a rebate, a reduction in thickness, around the face and down each edge of the shaft on the east face. The shaft measures 0.28m wide by 0.14m thick; the base is cemented into a modern granite base. This base measures 0.53m north-south by 0.36m east-west and is 0.05m high. In 1896 the historian Langdon recorded this cross against the front wall of the vicarage, 140m WNW of Mabe church. Sometime after 1896 the cross was moved into the churchyard and re-erected on a modern base. Both of the `Latin' cross motifs are very clear, and may have been recut sometime in the 19th century. The metalled surface of the footpath surrounding the cross and the granite slabs forming part of the footpath to the north east, the iron drain cover and the drain to the north, and the memorial slabs to the west of the cross, where they fall within the protective margin, are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features 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:

30410

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

Other
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SW 83; Pathfinder Series 1366 Source Date: 1984 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Consulted July 1996, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN No.18576.02,

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