Details

The monument includes a medieval wayside cross situated on a steep bank on
Treloy Hill.
The wayside cross survives as the lower part of a granite shaft set in a
granite base. The shaft measures 0.38m high by 0.19m wide and is octagonal in
section. The base measures 0.6m square and is 0.3m high.
This wayside cross is situated on a steep grass bank on a bend on the A3059,
the road between St Columb Major and Newquay, a route linking the north coast
with major routes through Cornwall. The cross was first mentioned in 1858 by
the antiquarian, Blight, as being situated on the roadside between St Columb
Major and St Columb Minor. Later, in 1884 it was noticed that the letters `T
S' were incised on the base, suggesting that the cross had been used as a
boundary stone at some time in the past. In 1992 the shaft was broken off the
base, but was repaired with a stainless steel pin and mortar. The octagonal
shape of the shaft suggests this wayside cross has a late medieval date.

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 medieval wayside cross on Treloy Hill survives reasonably well, despite
the loss of its head. It maintains its original function as a waymarker on its
original route, on a road linking the north coast with major routes through
Cornwall, and at a local level marking a route within the parish to the church
demonstrating well the major roles of such wayside crosses.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Langdon, A, Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall, (1994)
Other
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SW 86/96; Pathfinder Series 1346
Source Date: 1985
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England