Washingborough village cross

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.

Washingborough village cross is a good example of a medieval standing cross with a stepped base. Situated in an open area to the east of the parish church it is believed to stand in its original position, and minimal development of the area immediately surrounding the cross indicates that archaeological deposits relating to the monument's construction and use are likely to survive intact. While the medieval steps and socket-stone of the cross survived into modern times, the subsequent restoration of the shaft and head has resulted in its continued function as a public monument and amenity.

Details

The monument includes Washingborough village cross, a standing stone cross which stands in an open area to the east of the parish church. It is of stepped form and is medieval and later in date. The monument includes the foundations of the cross, a base consisting of four steps and a socket-stone, all of which are principally medieval in date; it also includes a shaft and head, which date from a late 19th century restoration. The cross was again restored in the mid-20th century.

The foundation of the cross is now partly visible above an irregular ground surface and includes mortared rubble, brick and masonry. The steps are roughly square in plan and are constructed of limestone blocks around a mortared rubble core. The edges of the three lower steps are slightly chamfered. On the fourth step stands the socket-stone, 0.86m square and approximately 0.55m high; the corners are moulded and chamfered so that the top of the stone is octagonal in section.

The foundation, steps and socket-stone are all considered to be medieval in origin. The three lower steps include notches, some containing iron fragments, which indicate that the steps were formerly partly clamped together. A stone slab in the eastern face of the lowest step contains an inscription recording the restoration of 1947.

Set into the socket-stone is the stone shaft, of rectangular section at the base rising through chamfered corners to an ornamented knop; above it is the cross-head, which takes the form of a stone crucifix with traceried decoration in the angles. Both the shaft and cross-head are late 19th-century in date.

The modern paving around the cross is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it is included. The cross is also Listed Grade II.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 1 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:

22627

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Davies, D S, Lincolnshire Notes and Queries in Ancient Stone Crosses in Kesteven, Vol. XII no.5, (1913), 149

Other
Listed Building Description, Village Cross,

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