Reasons for Designation
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 ordinary settlements or on routes having 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 350 wayside crosses are known nationally, concentrated in south-west
England throughout Cornwall and on Dartmoor where they form the commonest type
of stone cross. A small group also occurs on the North York Moors. Relatively
few examples have been recorded elsewhere and these are generally confined to
remote moorland locations.
Outside Cornwall almost all wayside crosses take the form of a 'latin' cross,
in which the cross-head itself is shaped with the projecting arms of an
unenclosed cross. In Cornwall wayside crosses vary considerably in form and
decoration. The commonest type includes a round, or 'wheel', head on the faces
of which various forms of cross or related designs were carved in relief or
incised, the spaces between the cross arms possibly pierced. The design was
sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ and the shaft might bear
decorative panels and motifs. Less common forms in Cornwall include the
'Latin' cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low relief cross on both
faces. Rare examples of wheel-head and slab-form crosses also occur within the
North York Moors group. Most wayside crosses have either a simple socketed
base or show no evidence for a separate base at all.
Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval
religious customs and sculptural traditions and to our knowledge of medieval
routeways and settlement patterns. All wayside crosses which survive as earth-
fast monuments, except those which are extremely damaged and removed from
their original locations, are considered worthy of protection.
This wayside cross has survived reasonably well and is a good example of a
wheel-headed cross with its original head and shaft. Despite its minor
relocation from its site of discovery, it remains a marker on the same route
to the church within the parish, demonstrating well the major role of wayside
crosses and showing clearly the longevity of many routes still in use. This is
illustrated especially clearly in St Buryan parish as it retains an unusually
complete series of surviving medieval wayside crosses, of which this monument
forms an integral part.
Details
The monument includes a medieval wayside cross situated beside a road running
south west from St Buryan in west Cornwall.
The medieval wayside cross, which is Listed Grade II, survives with a round
`wheel' head on an upright granite shaft set in a modern base, measuring 0.83m
in overall height. The head measures 0.36m high by 0.53m wide and 0.18m thick.
Each principal face bears a relief equal-limbed cross with a central raised
boss and markedly splayed limbs. The motif on the south east face is the more
worn. The shaft measures 0.42m high by 0.36m wide and tapers in thickness from
0.19m at the base to 0.17m at the neck. The shaft is set in a modern
rectangular granite base-slab, 0.78m east-west by 0.29m north-south and rising
0.05m above ground level.
This wayside cross is situated at the south east side of a road running
south west from St Buryan. It was found in a hedge 0.115km to the south west
along the same route out of St Buryan in 1943 and it was re-erected in 1959 in
a modern base at its present location. This cross is one of an unusually large
number of surviving medieval wayside crosses that mark the several routes
radiating out from the church at St Buryan into the parish. St Buryan is the
site of a major Celtic monastery, traditionally thought to have been founded
by Athelstan in the early 10th century.
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.
