Hill figure on Whiteleaf Hill, known as the Whiteleaf Cross

Reasons for Designation

The Whiteleaf Cross survives well and is a particularly intriguing example of a hill figure: a class of monument which includes large scale depictions of symbols, designs and motifs usually intended to be seen from a distance and created by cutting away turf and subsoil to form a visual contrast between the underlying chalk and the surrounding grassland. As with many such figures, the origins of the Whiteleaf Cross are obscure. In general, the practice of hill figure construction is believed to have originated in the Iron Age (c.500-50 BC), representing (in human or animal form) deities or totemic symbols which may indicate sites of ritual activity, territorial division or significant calendar events. However, in most cases, the dates of construction have yet to be clearly defined, and are often further obscured by later alterations resulting from repetitive cleaning or more deliberate changes to the designs. The earliest documentary evidence for the majority of hill figures (with the exception of those clearly created in more recent times as follies or to commemorate particular events) rarely date before the 17th century, and tend to record episodes of cleaning. Whiteleaf Cross is no exception. Its form and dimensions are clearly documented from the 18th century onwards, the records including details of the practice of `scouring' which, as elsewhere, provides insights into the longevity of the tradition. The question of the origin of the Whiteleaf Cross may never be completely resolved, and theories suggesting prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval construction (or adaptation) all have some support. Its importance as a distinctive feature of the Chiltern landscape is, however, undisputed. The proximity of the Whiteleaf Cross to a second cross at Bledlow Great Wood, some 6km to the west, is of considerable significance for the study of the development of this class of monument.

Details

The monument includes a hill figure in the shape of a triangle surmounted by a cross cut into the chalk on the west facing slope of Whiteleaf Hill near Monks Risborough. The figure is clearly visible across the Vale of Aylesbury and can be seen from as far away as Headington Hill in Oxfordshire, some 25km to the west. The figure is cut into a gradient of between 25 and 45 degrees, extending for approximately 75m up the hillside from the eastern side of Peters Lane. The triangular area of bare chalk which forms the lower part of the figure, known locally as `the globe', measures about 120m across and 40m from base to apex. The cross which emerges from the top of the triangle is almost equal sided: the shaft approximately 8m wide, and the arms 5m wide and c.8m in length. The depth of the cut varies between 1m towards the top of the monument and 0.4m further down the slope. The origins of the figure are unknown and have caused much speculation. It was first recorded in 1742 by Francis Wise, who thought that it was constructed around AD 910 to commemorate Edward the Elder's victory over a Danish raiding party at nearby Bledlow. Later authors have contended that the cross was created by the ancestors of Algar Stalre, the standard bearer of Christ Church, Canterbury, who held Risborough at the time of the Norman Conquest; or that the figure was pagan or prehistoric in origin, and later modified by the monks of Risborough or Missenden. None of these theories, however, adequately explain the absence of any mention of the figure prior to 1742. If prehistoric in origin, then it is curiously omitted from a Saxon charter dated AD 903 which makes a clear reference to the hill itself. Similarly there are no records of the cross from the medieval or early post-medieval period. Perhaps, as has been suggested, the cross was created during the Puritan interregnum of the mid 17th century by local people under the direction of a local cleric as a substitute for other social activities then abolished. The cross was recut and cleaned by the Earl of Buckinghamshire under the terms of the Enclosure Act of 1826. By the mid 19th century such cleaning (or scouring) had become the focus for annual festivities, with participation from the Oxford colleges. Erosion, both from repeated cleaning and rainwater washing down the slope has gradually altered the shape of the figure, broadening the base from 189ft (57.6m) in 1742, to 400ft (121.9m) in 1936; and increasing the overall height from 200ft (61m) to 246ft (75m) over the same period. It has also resulted in the gradual accumulation of a bank of chalky soil along the base of the cross. This material is included in the scheduling as it is likely to contain lost or discarded artefacts reflecting the age of cleaning tradition, and perhaps the age of the monument itself. Reinforcing planks were added to the edges of the monument when it was last cleaned in 1991. These are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included.

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.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

27147

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Sheahan, J, History and Topography of Buckinghamshire, (1862), 184
Wise, F, Further Observations upon the White Horse and other Antiquities, (1742), 34
Newman, P, Gods and Graven Images: The Chalk Hill Figures of England, (1987), 163-71
Knowles, D, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales, (1971), 478
Lipscomb, G, History and Antiquities of Buckinghamshire, (1847), 110
Marples, M, White Horses and other Hill Figures, (1949), 137
Baker, A, Records of Bucks in On the Ancient Crosses Incised on the Chiltern Hills, Vol. 1, (1857), 219-224
Downs, R S, Records of Bucks in The Danes in Buckinghamshire, Vol. 5, (1882), 261
Payne, E J, Records of Bucks in Whiteleaf Cross, Vol. 7, (1896), 559-67
Scott, W L, Antiquity in The Chiltern White Crosses, Vol. XI, (1937), 100-104

Other
reference to purpose of Bucks crosses, Lethbridge, T C, Letter to J Head (copy in Bucks SMR 0641), (1956)
AM107 Fiel Monument Warden's report, Paterson, H, Whiteleaf Cross, (1993)
Schedule entry citing Arthur Evans, DoE, Whiteleaf Cross near Princes Risborough,

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