Details

The monument includes a wayside cross, situated in a field in the settlement of Nanquidno. The cross survives as a decorated wheel-head and section of shaft measuring up to 0.7m high set into a two-section granite base. The cross head is decorated on one face with the figure of Christ in relief with two circular bosses on either side of his head and with a cross in relief on the other face. Named locally as 'Nanquidno Cross', it was found in 1894 by the side of a stream dividing the parishes of St Just and Sennen allegedly at the site of an ancient baptistry. It was re-erected in a field with the name of 'Grous' before 1963.
The cross is Listed Grade II (69207).

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-420559

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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 which might have a more specifically religious function, including providing access to religious sites for parishioners and funeral processions. Wayside crosses vary considerably in form and decoration but several regional types have been identified. The Cornish wayside crosses form one such group. The commonest type includes a round, or `wheel', head on the faces of which various forms of cross were carved. The design was sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ. Less common forms include the `Latin' cross, where the cross-head itself is shaped within the arms of an unenclosed cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low-relief cross on both faces. Over 400 crosses of all types are recorded in Cornwall. Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval routeways, settlement patterns and the development of sculptural traditions and their survival is somewhat differential because of periods of religious turbulence during the Reformation when many were subject to damage or partial destruction by iconoclasts. Despite having been moved, the wayside cross at Nanquidno retains its decoration and seems to have links with a nearby baptistery by tradition.

Source: Historic England