Village Cross Maintenance Work
Village Cross Maintenance Work
The Parish Council has now contracted Hudson Stonework Ltd. to complete the repairs to the cross. Simon Hudson is an experienced conservation stonemason. He’ll be using traditional materials and methods. He plans to start work on 4th July, weather permitting.
The residents of St Barbara’s Cottage have kindly agreed to let Simon park his van on the drive adjacent to the cross, and he’ll mark out the working area before he starts. The footpath route next to the Lychgate will remain open and road users will not be affected. All users should please be aware of the ongoing work, take greater care than usual in the vicinity of the cross, and ensure they don’t put themselves or Simon at risk.
Please do not enter the working area – it’s important that replacement stone and mortar be left undisturbed to ensure it sets properly.
A brief reminder of the significance of the village cross:-
It’s a scheduled ancient monument – this means that it’s been recognised as a nationally important archaeological site. Additionally, it means that while some change may be possible, there’s a presumption that we will hand it on to future generations in much the same state that we found it. The work to be carried out is therefore based on a principle of “minimal intervention”.
There’s a link to the full schedule list entry below. These are extracts from the listing:-
“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 cross 80m east of St Barbara’s Church is a good example of a medieval wayside cross with a stepped base.”
“The monument dates to the 14th or 15th century.”
The following are links to relevant websites and documents:-
The Schedule entry:-
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1015967?section=official-list-entry
Historic England website (Scheduled Monuments):-
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/scheduled-monuments/
The Consent from Historic England:- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XFt8pxThq6NweNJUYiTz0ib4hwFUyxI9/view?usp=sharing
If you have any queries please contact Huw Miller at huw.miller@btopenworld.com
