Details

The scheduling includes a medieval standing cross, with evidence of use as a
manorial boundary marker, situated on a moderate west slope, south east of
Perranporth. Old maps and documents indicate that the cross is in its original
position.
The cross has a head and shaft carved from a single piece of granite, with
smooth surfaces. From the front and back, its profile is fairly symmetrical,
with a rounded head, slightly pointed at the top and flattened at the bottom,
above a shaft tapering to ground level. From the sides the whole is
rectangular in outline. The cross measures up to 0.55m north east-south west
by 0.23m north west-south east, and stands 1.01m high.
The cross head is 0.55m wide, 0.38m high, and 0.23m thick. It protrudes 0.05m-
0.06m beyond the top of the shaft on either side. The shaft is 0.44m wide at
the top, and 0.35m wide at present ground surface. Its corners are slightly
rounded. The south west side of the shaft is inscribed immediately below the
head with the name of an adjoining manor, Nansmellyn, indicating that the
cross was used as mark on the boundary of this manor, and it is thought to
have been recorded as such in the 16th century. The inscription runs
horizontally across the width of the shaft, and has a total height of 0.3m. It
has well-formed capital lettering 0.06m high arranged in three lines, reading
NANS/MEL/LYN.
The modern road surface and all modern pipes and associated fittings,
where these fall within the cross's protective margin, are excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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

A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone,
mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD).
Standing crosses served a variety of functions. In churchyards they served as
stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm
Sunday. Elsewhere, standing crosses were used within settlements as places for
preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of
sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between
parishes, property, or settlements. A few crosses were erected to commemorate
battles. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and
protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market
places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some
crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for
example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the
scenes of games or recreational activity.
Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have
numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation
has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and
religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by
iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval
standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The
oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft
often set directly in the ground without a base. The most common form is the
stepped cross, in which the shaft is set in a socket stone and raised upon a
flight of steps; this type of cross remained current from the 11th to 12th
centuries until after the Reformation. Where the cross-head survives it may
take a variety of forms, from a lantern-like structure to a crucifix; the more
elaborate examples date from the 15th century. Much less common than stepped
crosses are spire-shaped crosses, often composed of three or four receding
stages with elaborate architectural decoration and/or sculptured figures; the
most famous of these include the Eleanor crosses, erected by Edward I at the
stopping places of the funeral cortege of his wife, who died in 1290. Also
uncommon are the preaching crosses which were built in public places from the
13th century, typically in the cemeteries of religious communities and
cathedrals, market places and wide thoroughfares; they include a stepped base,
buttresses supporting a vaulted canopy, in turn carrying either a shaft and
head or a pinnacled spire. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our
understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our
knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which
survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their
original location, are considered worthy of protection.

The standing cross 120m south west of Little Carnkief survives very well.
It is considered to be in its original location, and the old land surface and
remains of human activity associated with it can be expected to survive below
ground level beneath and around it. The association with manorial bounds
illustrates well the use of crosses to mark and legitimise property
boundaries.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Langdon, A G, Old Cornish Crosses, (1896), 220
Other
Langdon, A, Boundstone Or Cross?, 2000, Forthcoming, in Old Cornwall Journal
Mercer, RJ, AM7, (1973)
MS at RIC library, Truro, Henderson, C, Calendars, Calendars, (1920)
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1880
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Title: Perranzabuloe Tithe Apportionment
Source Date: 1840
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England