Details

The monument includes a wayside cross situated close to a crossroads linking the settlements of Trerulefoot, Polbathic, Downderry and Widegates and marking an important junction between medieval roads. The cross survives as a Latin cross head on a slightly tapering shaft, standing approximately 1m high. It is set into a modern stone platform and enclosure on top of a hedge. The cross was recorded by Langdon in 1896, but has been moved slightly since then following road widening.

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-436634

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. Although this cross was moved slightly to facilitate road widening, the wayside cross 50m north east of Carracawn Cross remains close to its original location and its original purpose as a route marker can still be appreciated. More unusually for Cornwall this is a Latin shaped cross rather than the more common wheel-headed cross type.

Source: Historic England