Horn's Cross

Reasons for Designation

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and, because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provides direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards. The well preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. 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 settlements, or on routes which might have 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 110 examples of wayside crosses are known on Dartmoor, where they form the commonest type of stone cross. Almost all of the wayside crosses on the Moor take the form of a `Latin' cross, in which the cross-head itself is shaped within the projecting arms of an unenclosed cross. Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval routeways, settlement patterns and the development of sculptural traditions. All wayside crosses on the Moor which survive as earth-fast monuments, except those which are extremely damaged and removed from their original locations, are considered worthy of protection.

Despite historic damage, the wayside cross known as Horn's Cross survives comparatively well and, together with a number of other crosses, denotes the route of a medieval track leading across the moor between Tavistock and Buckfast Abbeys.

Details

The monument includes a wayside cross known as Horn's Cross situated on a gentle north facing slope of Holne Moor overlooking the valley of the River Dart. The cross includes a socket stone, a crude modern shaft and an original head and arms. The socket stone measures 0.82m by 0.89m, protrudes 0.33m above the ground and is orientated north east to south west. The modern shaft is 1.63m high and measures 0.35m by 0.3m at the base and 0.23m by 0.34m at the top. The shaft bears traces of tare and feather working indicating that it was produced sometime after 1800. The arms of the cross measure 0.57m wide by 0.23m high and 0.2m thick. The head is 0.22m high by 0.2m wide.

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:

28741

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Crossing, W, The Ancient Stone Crosses of Dartmoor, (1987), 102-3

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry