Details

The monument includes the remains of a medieval wayside cross currently
located in St Peter's churchyard approximately 2m north of the church. The
remains include the socle or socket stone of the cross and the stump of its
shaft. The remainder of the shaft and the cross head are now missing, possibly
due to post-medieval religious iconoclasm.
The socle comprises a 50cm high dressed gritstone block with an octagonal
upper section and a square lower section with a base diameter of approximately
70cm. The upper section has pyramidal stops on alternate faces. The shaft
stump is also approximately 50cm tall and is octagonal with narrow pyramidal
stops and a 20cm square base. The cross is known as Eccles Cross and is
believed to be the cross which formerly stood on high ground c.500m south east
of the churchyard, next to the lane past Eccles House Farm. The name `Eccles'
indicates that the cross was related to the church and, in its original
location, it is believed to have marked the intersection of medieval trackways
leading to the church from Bradwell in the south and Brough in the east. It is
recorded as being of 13th century date and was removed to the churchyard in
1966.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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.

Eccles Cross is a good example of a documented wayside cross which, although
no longer in its original location, is important due to its good state of
preservation.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Derbyshire SMR (PRN 8115),
Hill, Angela Shackleton, (1994)

Source: Historic England