Two crosses immediately west of St Budock Church

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 two crosses immediately west of St Budock Church survive well in what is believed to be their original location. In form and decoration they are more typical of wayside crosses than the more elaborate churchyard crosses, and display rare incised cross motifs.

Details

The monument includes two medieval crosses situated on either side of a footpath to the west of St Budock Church on the south coast of west Cornwall. Both crosses are Listed Grade II. The cross on the north side of the footpath survives as an upright granite shaft with a round `wheel' head, standing to 0.48m high. The head measures 0.46m in diameter and 0.10m thick and the principal faces are orientated north west-south east. The south west face bears an incised equal limbed cross set within an incised ring. Another incised line runs across the neck of the cross. The north east face is decorated with five small, circular indentations or shallow holes, forming a cross; one is centrally placed, and the others mark the ends of the limbs. The shaft measures 0.38m wide and 0.14m thick. The cross on the south side of the footpath also survives as an upright granite shaft with a round `wheel' head, standing to 0.61m high. The head measures 0.49m in diameter and 0.13m thick and the principal faces are orientated north east-south west. Both principal faces bear an incised cross set within an incised circle. The intersection of the cross and the ends of the limbs are marked with small circular indentations or shallow holes. Both of these crosses were located in their present position before 1896 when they were recorded and illustrated by the local historian, Langdon. There is no record of them having been moved. The gravel surface of the footpath between the two crosses, the chest tomb to the north west of the northern cross and the row of three grave stones to the south west of the southern cross are excluded from the scheduling where they fall within the monument's 2m 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:

31866

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Langdon, A G, Stone Crosses in West Cornwall, (1999)
Langdon, A G, Old Cornish Crosses, (1896)
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:

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