Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross base and a protective margin
around it, situated at the centre of a minor road junction between Crantock
and Newquay near the north coast of Cornwall.
The cross base, which is Listed Grade II, is visible as a square stone slab,
measuring 1.03m north-south by 0.95m east-west, with rounded corners. The
cross base is groundfast, its upper surface projecting 0.12m above ground
level. In the centre of the base is a round socket, 0.25m in diameter, cut to
receive the cross shaft.
This cross-base is located at a junction of three roads, south of the hamlet
of Trevemper, on the route east from the parish church at Crantock to the
lowest bridging point of the River Gannel at Trevemper Bridge. This route
linked the important medieval collegiate church at Crantock with its dependent
chapel and parish of St Columb Minor to the north east, and on a regional
scale, with the main routes through Cornwall.
The surface of the metalled road passing to the south of the cross-base but
within the area of the protective margin and the modern road sign to the south
east of the cross-base, are 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 presence of this medieval wayside cross base at its original location
where it supported a cross beside the main route east from the major medieval
collegiate church at Crantock demonstrates well the major roles of wayside
crosses, the development of the road network and the longevity of many routes
still in use.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Henderson, C, The Cornish Church Guide, (1928)
Langdon, A G, Old Cornish Crosses, (1896)
Other
consulted 1994, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 25037,
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SW 85/95
Source Date: 1983
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England