Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross, known as Stump Cross, and a
protective margin around it, situated at the junction of the route east to the
parish church at Sheviock with a former main route into Cornwall from the
ferry across Plymouth Sound.
The Stump Cross survives with an upright granite head and shaft set in a
hexagonal base, the overall height of the cross being 2.43m. The cross head
has unenclosed arms, a form called a `Latin' cross, its principal faces
orientated to the north east and south west. The head and shaft stand 2.27m
high above the base. The head measures 0.75m across the side arms; these and
the upper limb are each 0.26m long and 0.22m wide. The upper and lower edges
of the side arms and the edges of the upper limb have a 0.11m wide chamfer.
The shaft is 0.34m wide and 0.16m thick, with a 0.14m wide chamfer on all
edges. The chamfer ends 0.28m above the base. The shaft is set firmly in an
hexagonal granite base measuring 1.29m north east-south west by 1.3m north
west-south east and 0.16m high. The Stump Cross is situated high on the verge
above the south east angle of a crossroads between the main route to the
parish church from the west and the former main route into Cornwall from the
crossing of Plymouth Sound. The latter route also led to the important
medieval priory at St Germans, 2.75km to the NNW. The cross originally stood
on a mound at the crossroads but it was moved to its present location on the
verge in 1943 when the road was widened. When moved on that occasion, a 0.2m
tenon was revealed at the base of the shaft.
The strand of barbed wire fence above the south east of the cross base but
within the area of the protective margin is excluded from the scheduling but
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.

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 having a more specifically religious
function, including those providing access to religious sites for parishioners
and funeral processions, or marking long-distance routes frequented on
pilgrimages.
Over 350 wayside crosses are known nationally, concentrated in south west
England throughout Cornwall and on Dartmoor where they form the commonest type
of stone cross. A small group also occurs on the North York Moors. Relatively
few examples have been recorded elsewhere and these are generally confined to
remote moorland locations.
Outside Cornwall almost all wayside crosses take the form of a `Latin' cross,
in which the cross-head itself is shaped within the projecting arms of an
unenclosed cross. In Cornwall wayside crosses vary considerably in form and
decoration. The commonest type includes a round, or `wheel', head on the faces
of which various forms of cross or related designs were carved in relief or
incised, the spaces between the cross arms possibly pierced. The design was
sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ and the shaft might bear
decorative panels and motifs. Less common forms in Cornwall include the
`Latin' cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low relief cross on both
faces. Rare examples of wheel-head and slab-form crosses also occur within the
North York Moors group. Most wayside crosses have either a simple socketed
base or show no evidence for a separate base at all.
Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval
religious customs and sculptural traditions and to our knowledge of medieval
routeways and settlement patterns. All wayside crosses which survive as earth-
fast monuments, except those which are extremely damaged and removed from
their original locations, are considered worthy of protection.

The Stump Cross has survived well. It forms a good example of the rather
uncommon `Latin' cross type. Despite its minor relocation, it remains as a
waymarker on its original route and junction, demonstrating well the major
roles of such wayside crosses, the regional and local levels at which they
functioned and the longevity of many routes still in use.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Langdon, A G, Old Cornish Crosses, (1896)
Other
consulted 1994, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 6337,
consulted 1994, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 6400,
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SX 25/35
Source Date: 1983
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England