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Listed Building record MDR3492 - Cross shaft (relocated), All Saints Church, Bakewell

Type and Period (1)

  • (Saxon to Medieval - 900 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

A 10th or 11th century cross-shaft, in Bakewell churchyard which was formerly at The Holt, Two Dales, Darley. It is first recorded as found at Burley Fields farm [name SK 276 642] but exact details of its discovery are lacking. Scheduled. There is another cross in the churchyard (SMR 822) and a large number of fragments in the south porch and north aisle of the church (SMR 823). (1-3) The cross is now situated at SK 21556845. (4) Grade I listed ancient Cross in the churchyard of All Saints Church. It is early 10th century in date and was brought from Birley Fields Farm at Two Dales, Darley where it was discovered or from Gladwin's Mark, 5km east of Beeley. The cross is made from gritstone and has a tapered rectangular shaft, approximately 1½m in height. It is carved with interlace and ring motifs. (5) It became a scheduled monument on the 23rd June 1938, affirmed on the 21st April 1994. The monument is a Grade I Listed high cross comprising a shouldered gritstone cross shaft mortared onto a modern base. Originally a cross head would have surmounted the shaft but was not found when the shaft was unearthed from a field in Two Dales in the 19th century. It is also likely that the shaft was originally set into a socle or stone cross base. This is indicated by the squared-off undecorated section at the bottom of the shaft which would have slotted into a socket. The shaft is sandstone and tapers quite sharply towards the shoulder. It is of rectangular section and measures 44cm by 30cm at the base and 23cm by 19cm at the shoulder. Above the shoulder is part of a line of cable-moulding. All four faces of the shaft are highly decorated. The ornament is framed by flat-band mouldings which edge the angles of the shaft. Within these frames each face is divided into either two or three panels, all of which contain varying types of interlace and plaiting decoration which, stylistically, appear influenced by Viking art-forms suggesting that the cross dates to the late ninth or tenth century AD. Two panels, occupying the top and bottom of the east face respectively, contain what appear to be stylised bird forms. The shaft is 159cm high and the cross would have been approximately 2m-3m tall with its head and socle. Following its discovery, the shaft stood in the grounds of The Holt in Two Dales until being removed to All Saints' churchyard for safekeeping. (7) Apart from the large churchyard cross, there are 38 other fragments of Anglo-Saxon carved stones from an unknown number of monuments kept in the south porch and at the west end of the nave. Nearly all of the fragments are made from local stone, but at least two of the fragments appear to be in Jurassic Limestone and may be from elsewhere. (8)

Sources/Archives (8)

  • <1> Bibliographic reference: Pevsner, N. 1953. The Buildings of England: Derbyshire, 1st edition. p110.
  • <2> Article in serial: Heathcote, J. 1961. 'Scheduled Ancient Monuments', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 81. p137.
  • <3> Scheduling record: Ministry of Public Buildings and Works. 1961. Ancient Monuments in England and Wales.
  • <4> Personal Observation: F1 BHS 21-FEB-66.
  • <5> Bibliographic reference: Department of the Environment. 1974. District of West Derbyshire, Bakewell area. p55.
  • <6> Index: North Derbyshire Archaeological Trust (NDAT). North Derbyshire Archaeological Trust Index: 0136. 0136.
  • <7> Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1994. Scheduling Notification: Anglo-Scandinavian high cross from Two Dales, Darley, now in the churchyard of All Saints Church. Cat. No.: 77.
  • <8> Correspondence: Sidebottom, P. 1994. Letter regarding Anglo-Saxon stone monuments in Derbyshire, 15th February, 1994. Letter.

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 2154 6845 (10m by 10m) Centre
Civil Parish BAKEWELL, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

  • EDR1284

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External Links (0)

Record last edited

Nov 6 2023 2:31PM

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