In almost every parish of our county, tucked away in a churchyard, or on a quiet corner of the village green, stands the remains of a stone cross. How did they get there? What were they for?

The unusual lock-up at Deeping St James was adapted from a 15th century cross base

Symbols of Christianity

It hardly needs to be said that the cross is a symbol of Christianity and the earliest crosses may have been erected before churches were built as preaching crosses, marking the places where religious rituals were practised. It is doubtful whether any of these still stand in Lincolnshire, but tantalising fragments of Saxon crosses, often carved with characteristic interlace decoration can be found built into the walls many of our older medieval churches.

The remains of crosses are most often found in churchyards and there is a particular reason for this. Standing crosses in churchyards served as stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm Sunday. They were also places for penance and prayer. Elsewhere in our villages standing crosses were used as places for preaching and public proclamation. Some crosses were used to mark boundaries between parishes, properties or settlements

Crowland Abbey crosses

There is an interesting group of crosses which are said to have marked the bounds of the lands of Crowland Abbey. One of these, known as St Guthlac's cross (after the warrior monk who established Crowland Abbey in 716), bears a Latin inscription which reads: "This rock, I say, is Guthlac's utmost bound". There are stories of the monks of Crowland creeping out at dead of night with ropes and shovels to move the boundary stones a little further outwards. There were other examples of parish boundary marker crosses in the county but none are known to survive.

The medieval village cross at North Kyme

Market crosses

Because a standing cross is a holy place they became used as locations to validate deals or transactions and thus the market cross was born. There are good examples of market crosses at Spilsby, Grantham and Tattershall. In some towns the market cross becomes a whole building, bearing a cross on its top. The butter cross at Burwell (now the Church Hall) is one of the few examples of such structures in Lincolnshire.

The destruction of crosses

Most of the standing crosses you can see today are either the broken remains of a cross or a 19th or 20th century restoration. Very few have survived intact. Why have these holy monuments been so systematically destroyed? ... well, during the reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries they were considered to be papist symbols and the tops of them were smashed off. The only one I know of in the county that has survived is the cross in Somersby Churchyard - here a 15 foot, tapering octagonal shaft topped with a simple gabled cross head still stands. At North Kyme, most (about 10 foot) of the shaft is still there, although the cross head itself is lost.

Carvings and decorations

The commonest type of standing cross has a stepped base with the cross-shaft set into a socket stone which forms the uppermost step. Occasionally the socket stones are decorated, as at Silk Willoughby, where the symbols of the four evangelists (an eagle, an ox, a lion and a man) are carved on the socket stone's four sides. The cross shafts are usually square or octagonal. The cross-heads took many forms from simple crucifixes to elaborate lantern shaped structures.

The base of Silk Willoughby cross has carvings symbolising the four gospels around its base. The carvings, which are now very worn, are of: - a man for St.Matthew - a winged lion for St.Mark - a winged calf for St.Luke, and - an eagle for St.John (shown)

The Eleanor Crosses

There was a particularly ornate set of crosses set up by Edward I to mark the resting places of Queen Eleanor's body on its journey from Harby (just in Nottinghamshire) down to London. It is known that her coffin rested at Lincoln, Grantham and Stamford, but the Eleanor Crosses have not survived - a small fragment in the grounds of Lincoln Castle may be the only remnant. There were twelve crosses in all and Charing Cross (now perhaps better known as a station) was the last.

Are there any unknown crosses?

Our county is particularly rich in the remains of standing crosses and we have recently begun a study of them with a view to publishing a description and gazetteer of all the known crosses in Lincolnshire. We think we know where they all are, but there are sure to be one or two which have eluded us. If you know of any isolated, hidden or buried examples - particularly of parish boundary markers, do let us know at the Heritage Trust by telephoning 01529 461499.

Dave Start
Director, Heritage Lincolnshire