christian monuments

Cowcliffe Cross, Fartown, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

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Cross: OS Grid Reference – SE 13949 18935

Nice ‘n easy: from Huddersfield central, take the A641 road north to Brighouse, but barely a half-mile out of town turn left up the Halifax Old Road. Go on here for nearly a mile, then keep your eyes peeled for the aptly-named South Cross Road on your right. Go up here all the way to the end where it meets with Cowcliffe Hill Road. Here, at the junction, right by the roadside at the edge of the wall, is the remains of the old cross-base, all but covered in vegetation. You’ll see it.

Archaeology & History

The little-known remains of a post-medieval cross base can still be seen, albeit very overgrown, right by the roadside. The upstanding stone cross that once stood upon it has long since gone (perhaps broken up and built into the wall). It may have been one of two such crosses relatively close to each other: as this one is found at South Cross Road, there may have been another one at the nearby North Cross Road, but history seems to be silent on the matter.

The cross-base itself has several holes cut into it where the standing stone cross was fixed upright. Very little seems to be known about this monument. George Redmonds (2008) told simply that, “the base of a cross survives on Cowcliffe Hill Road, no doubt marking the ancient crossroads. It explains the names North and South Cross Roads.” He added that, “The base of the cross survives, partly hidden in the undergrowth, and it is the only visible evidence we have of several similar crosses in the township.”

References:

Redmonds, George, Place-Names of Huddersfield, GR Books: Huddersfield 2008.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks to Liz Sykes for helping out big-time to uncover the base from beneath the mass of herbage.

Market Cross, Aynho, Northamptonshire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SP 514 332

Archaeology & History

In John Bridges’ (1791) account of the parish of Aynho, he made mention of an old market cross that stood in the village, but even in his day it had been removed and so we know little about it. Chris Markham (1901) included it in his inventory of crosses, but could find no additional details to those provided by Mr Bridges. He told us:

“In the seventeenth year of Edward II (1323-4) John de Clavering was lord of the manor of Eynho, and obtained the King’s charter for a weekly mercate, or market, to be held every Tuesday, and a yearly fair on the vigil and day of St. Michael and two days following. This market was continued until the twentieth year of James I (1622-3), when Richard Cartwright obtained a new charter for holding the market and fair, with the addition of another yearly fair on the Monday and Tuesday after Pentecost. Bridges, however, writing about 1700, says that the market had been discontinued for some sixty years, and that the market cross had been then long since taken down. Since then the fairs have also sunk into desuetude.”

References:

Bridges, John, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire – volume 1, T. Payne: Oxford 1791.
Markham, Christopher A., The Stone Crosses of the County of Northampton, Simpkin Marshall: London 1901.

Village Cross, Leighterton, Gloucestershire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – ST 824 910

Archaeology & History

Charles Pooley (1868) gave a somewhat vague description of this site, telling that, “there is authority for believing that at one time a Cross was set up in the village.” I can find no other reference to this monument which, I presume, has been destroyed. (the grid reference cited is an approximation near the centre of the village, where village crosses were usually located)

References:

Pooley, Charles, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, Longmans Green: London 1868.

High Cross, Elkstone, Gloucestershire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SO 9674 1321

Archaeology & History

First shown on a 1775 map of the region, this long-lost site is preserved in several place-names near the old crossroads a half-mile north of Elkstone village. It is mentioned, albeit briefly in Charles Pooley (1868) county survey, where he told that, “in former times a very handsome and lofty High Cross stood in this parish.” However, there’s the possibility that the name ‘High’ cross may here derive simply from a cross located at a high point in the landscape.

An old ‘Guide Post’ marked on the early Ordnance Survey map at the same spot has been suggested by Danny Sullivan—and not without good reason—to be a prehistoric standing stone. He may be right.

References:

Pooley, Charles, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, Longmans Green: London 1868.
Sullivan, D.P., Old Stones of the Cotswolds and the Forest of Dean, Reardon: Cheltenham 1999.

Churchyard Cross, St Briavel’s, Gloucestershire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SO 559 047

Archaeology & History

At the church of St. Mary at the northern end of the village, Charles Pooley’s (1868) county survey told that,

“There was formerly a Cross in the churchyard near the south porch, but it was removed in the year 1830, when the new tower was built.”

It would seem there is no longer any trace of the monument.

References:

Pooley, Charles, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, Longmans Green: London 1868.

Market Cross, Lechlade, Gloucestershire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SU 214 995

Archaeology & History

In days of olde, Charles Pooley (1868) told us that “an old cross formerly stood in the Market-place” in the centre of the town where the old crossroads meet—as was customary for crosses and maypoles—just outside the church of St. Lawrence. Pyramidal in form, it was mentioned in an old manuscript cited by Adin Williams (1888), which told us,

“Leland saith that in his days there was a Piramid of Stone at ye west end of ye Church, whose foundations are to be seen near Slaughter’s Well, which is said to be medicinal water.”

And although we don’t know when the cross was erected, we know when it was destroyed. Williams again tells us:

“About 1770, Sir Jacob Wheate pulled down this cross. He is said to have taken the stones to the house he was building.”

References:

Pooley, Charles, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, Longmans Green: London 1868.
Williams, Adin, Lechlade: Being the History of the Town, Manor and Estates, The Priory and the Church, E.W. Savory: Cirencester 1888.

Village Cross, Deerhurst, Gloucestershire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SO 870 299

Archaeology & History

In Charles Pooley’s (1868) definitive account of Gloucestershire county crosses, he informs us that,

“there was formerly a Cross erected in this village, but it has long since disappeared.”

He gives no further information about its history, but we must surmise that it was either associated with the ancient priory on the north side of the village, or in the traditional place at the centre of the the village. The grid-reference cited places the lost cross in the grounds of the priory.

References:

Pooley, Charles, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, Longmans Green: London 1868.

Churchyard Cross, Lower Dowdeswell, Gloucestershire

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Cross (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SP 001 199

Archaeology & History

In Charles Pooley’s (1868) definitive history on the county crosses, this monument is mentioned in passing without any known history, apart form it been destroyed sometime in the early 19th century:

“A cross formerly stood in the churchyard, but it has been removed within living memory.”

References:

Pooley, Charles, Notes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire, Longmans Green: London 1868.