Standing cross, 140m north-west of St Andrew's Church
The Cross, Okeford Fitzpaine, Blandford Forum, Dorset
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1438377
- Date first listed:
- 06-Sept-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Standing cross, 140m north-west of St Andrew's Church
- Statutory Address:
- The Cross, Okeford Fitzpaine, Blandford Forum, Dorset
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1438377
- Date first listed:
- 06-Sept-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Standing cross, 140m north-west of St Andrew's Church
- Statutory Address 1:
- The Cross, Okeford Fitzpaine, Blandford Forum, Dorset
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- The Cross, Okeford Fitzpaine, Blandford Forum, Dorset
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Dorset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Okeford Fitzpaine
- National Grid Reference:
- ST8063110927
Summary
Standing cross, of probable C14 date.
Reasons for Designation
The medieval standing cross in Okeford Fitzpaine is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: despite the loss of the original shaft and head, this is a standing cross of probable C14 date which is prominently sited in the centre of the village;
*Historic interest: it illustrates well how some crosses served as foci during the medieval period;
* Group value: it forms a group with other listed buildings, including the Old School House, 74 and 75 The Cross, and the Old Bell Stores, which are all Grade II listed.
History
Standing crosses, usually of stone, are free-standing upright structures that were mostly erected during the medieval period. Typically they comprised a shaft, often on a stepped base, supporting a decorative head of cross form or with a lantern, globe or finial. They varied considerably in elaboration, and stood in a variety of locations, to serve a range of functions. Those located outside churchyards were used as places for preaching, proclamation and penance. Crosses in market places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation some continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for example as places for official proclamations and announcements; others were the scenes of games or recreational activity.
During the medieval period Okeford Fitzpaine was granted royal charters to hold a weekly market and a three-day yearly fair which were likely to have taken place on the village green. Okeford Fitzpaine’s standing cross, which is considered to probably date from the C14, is located on the former village green. Some restoration was carried out in the mid-C20.
Details
Standing cross of probable C14 date.
MATERIALS and PLAN: constructed of ashlar and square on plan.
DESCRIPTION: it comprises a chamfered plinth, some 2.5m wide, which is less visible at the south-west corner due to the slightly rising ground. It is surmounted by a two-stepped base and a socket stone; the shaft and head are missing. The socket stone is square at the base, chamfered above broach stops, and rises to an octagonal section. The tenon of the cross-shaft still lodges in a square mortice at the centre of the socket stone. There is a mid-C20 plaque on the north side of the base but the inscription is no longer clearly legible.
Sources
Websites
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Vol.3, Central, accessed 3 August 2016 from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol3/pp200-207
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
The listed building(s) is/are shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 18:39:51.
Download a full scale map (PDF)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.