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Description

Reasons for Designation 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. Helpringham village cross is a good example of a standing cross with a stepped base. Situated on the village green, it is believed to stand in or near its original position. Limited disturbance to the area immediately surrounding the cross indicates that archaeological deposits relating to the monument's construction and use are likely to survive intact. While parts of the cross have survived from medieval times, the subsequent restoration of the cross as a war memorial has resulted in its continued function as a public monument and amenity. Details The monument includes Helpringham village cross, a standing stone cross located on the village green to the east of the parish church. The cross is of stepped form and is medieval and modern in date. The monument includes the base, comprising four medieval steps, and the socket-stone, shaft and head, which were added in the early 20th century as a war memorial. The steps are all roughly square in plan and constructed of limestone blocks. They occupy an area approximately 3.1m square and are surrounded on all sides by an area of concrete paving with iron railings, which are not included in the scheduling. All four steps are medieval in date with 19th- and 20th- century repairs represented by iron clamps. On the uppermost step rests the early 20th-century socket-stone, composed of two limestone slabs with moulded and chamfered edges; the lower is inscribed as a memorial to soldiers of the parish who were killed in World War I. Set into the middle of the socket-stone is the shaft, of rectangular section and 1.22m in height, topped by a cross- shaped head. The full height of the cross is approximately 3m. This cross is listed as Grade II. The concrete paving and iron railings which surround the cross are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these features is included. Sources Books and journals Davies, D S, 'Lincolnshire Notes and Queries' in Ancient Stone Crosses in Kesteven, , Vol. XII no.5, (1913), 142

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