Medieval cross 40m east of Holy Cross 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.

Although the cross itself has been restored, the steps and base of the churchyard cross 40m east of Holy Cross Church are original and in good condition. The base is a particuarly good example with fine quatrefoil decoration. The cross is in its original position.

Details

The monument includes a medieval cross in the churchyard of Holy Cross Church
at Ashton Keynes, a village situated on the river gravels of the Thames in the
north of Wiltshire. The cross has been restored and is used as a war memorial
but remains in its original position. It comprises a square base reduced to an
octagon with quatrefoil decoration on each face and a moulded torus. This is
set on two large square steps 3.1m and 2.15m wide.
The remainder of the cross is not original although the tapering shaft may
have been taken from another cross in the village. All parts of the cross are
included in the scheduling.
This cross is one of four in Ashton Keynes, all of which are the subject of
separate schedulings.

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.


This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 16 December 2016.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

34199

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, (1975), 94
Ponting, C E, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine in Notes on Churches visited in 1892, Vol. 27, (1893), 29-33

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 16/12/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/23883
War Memorials Online, accessed 16/12/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/140937

End of official list entry

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