Reasons for Designation
High crosses, frequently heavily decorated, were erected in a variety of
locations in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries AD. They are found
throughout northern England with a few examples further south. Surviving
examples are of carved stone but it is known that decorated timber crosses
were also used for similar purposes and some stone crosses display evidence of
carpentry techniques in their creation and adornment, attesting to this
tradition. High crosses have shafts supporting carved cross heads which may be
either free-armed or infilled with a 'wheel' or disc. They may be set within
dressed or rough stone bases called socles. The cross heads were frequently
small, the broad cross shaft being the main feature of the cross.
High crosses served a variety of functions, some being associated with
established churches and monasteries and playing a role in religious services,
some acting as cenotaphs or marking burial places, and others marking routes
or boundaries and acting as meeting places for local communities. Decoration
of high crosses divides into four main types: plant scrolls, plaiting and
interlace, birds and animals and, lastly, figural representation which is the
rarest category and often takes the form of religious iconography. The carved
ornamentation was often painted in a variety of colours though traces of these
pigments now survive only rarely. The earliest high crosses were created and
erected by the native population, probably under the direction of the Church,
but later examples were often commissioned by secular patrons and reflect the
art styles and mythology of Viking settlers.
Several distinct regional groupings and types of high cross have been
identified, some being the product of single schools of craftsmen. There are
fewer than 50 high crosses surviving in England and this is likely to
represent only a small proportion of those originally erected. Some were
defaced or destroyed during bouts of iconoclasm during the 16th and 17th
centuries. Others fell out of use and were taken down and reused in new
building works. They provide important insights into art traditions and
changing art styles during the early medieval period, into religious beliefs
during the same era and into the impact of the Scandinavian settlement of the
north of England. All well-preserved examples are identified as nationally
important.
Details
The monument includes an 11th century Anglo-Saxon cross shaft in St John the
Baptist's churchyard, Low Dinsdale. It is situated on a low earthwork bank
which was formerly a churchyard boundary, 5m west of the church. The coarse
sandstone shaft is rectangular in plan and tapers with its height. It is 0.4m
wide by 0.25m deep at its base and 1.04m high and has decoration on all four
sides. The broad west face has four ornamental panels divided by flat band
mouldings. Three panels are of free rings linked horizontally by diagonal and
surrounding strands and the bottom panel of the same motif but the strands
twist and fall into a triangle with pendant loops. The narrow south face is of
continuous irregular plait with opposing diagonals and free rings. The broad
east face is indecipherable, though sources describe panels of grooved
interlace and a compartment in the form of a shield containing a curious
design with triquetra terminations. The narrow north face is of continuous
four-strand plain plait. The north east corner has a 5cm wide band of
continuous two strand plait. This type of shaft, with panels of plait on the
broad face and continuous plait on the narrow, forms the last phases of the
Anglian tradition and is dated to the third quarter of the 11th century.
The cross, which is Listed Grade II*, is in its original position and stands
in an area of undisturbed ground that will have preserved deposits beneath the
present ground surface.
St John the Baptist's Church was built of red sandstone c.1196. It was
restored in 1875-6 and 1905. The longevity of worship at the site is indicated
by the number of 10th and 11th century cross fragments and by the presence of
an 11th century recumbent grave cover.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
32059
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
