Monument record MLI34262 - REMAINS OF CROSS, ST JAMES' CHURCH

Summary

REMAINS OF CROSS, ST JAMES' CHURCH

Type and Period (1)

  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 900 AD to 1199 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

In the porch are three stones, all appearing to be from one tall cross, said to be part of St Cuthbert's cross and to date from about AD950-1050. {1}{5} Three stones are preserved in the porch. The first stone, part of a cross-shaft is 37.5 inches by 14 inches wide tapering to 13 inches and 6 inches to 8 inches thick. There is a cable moulding on two edges, the other two being cut away. On the top surface of the shaft are two dowel holes for fixing a further section on the shaft or its head. On the front are ten letters running the length of the stone, and on the back is cut a large cross 'paty' enclosed in an interlaced design with a rosette in the middle. The complete side has running scroll of conventional foliage. The second stone, perhaps part of the same shaft, is 21.75 inches by 11 inches wide tapering to 9 inches and 6 inches thick. The same cable moulding appears on two edges, the other being cut away. On the face are traces of letters. The third stone a third section of the same shaft is 20 inches by 12 inches tapering to 10.5 inches and 7.75 inches thick. The cable moulding remains on two angles only as is the other two stones. Otherwise the stone is plain. This stone cross is noticed in Gough's Camden and in the Rev J. Wild's 'History of Castle Bytham'. No satisfactory rendering of the inscription has yet been produced. The scroll ornament foliage is entirely conventionalised and has little or no resemblance to the northern briar vine scroll. It may perhaps be assigned to the middle of the eleventh century. {2} Pevsner, however, suggests a later dating for the cross. In the nave three sections from the same cross shaft, probably 12th century, with cable-moulded borders, a foliage trail along one edge, and an undecipherable inscription along one broad face. Also a fragment from a similar shaft. {4}

Sources/Archives (5)

  •  Index: OS CARD INDEX. CASTLE BYTHAM. SK 91 NE 3,1965, HARPER F R.
  •  Article in Serial: D.S. Davies and A.W. Clapham. 1926. 'Pre-Conquest Carved Stones in Lincolnshire' in the Archaeological Journal. VOL 33 2ND SERIES PP5,9.
  •  Article in Serial: D.S. Davies and A.W. Clapham. 1926. 'Pre-Conquest Carved Stones in Lincolnshire' in the Archaeological Journal. VOL 33 2ND SERIES PL2,3.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). 2ND REV EDN P215.
  •  Index: SMR FILE. CASTLE BYTHAM. SK 91 NE G,1983, DES.

Map

Location

Grid reference SK 9885 1834 (point)
Civil Parish CASTLE BYTHAM, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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