Scheduled Monument: Woodhey Cross (1017062)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Woodhey Cross PARISH: FADDILEY DISTRICT: CREWE AND NANTWICH COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 32566 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ57735263 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a standing cross at the junction of four lanes in the centre of Woodhey Green. The cross has two steps supporting a massive single stone block with a fragment of the shaft remaining in the socket. The first step is set in the ground with the top at ground level. It measures 1.9m by 1.95m, formed of large ashlar sandstone blocks. The second step measures 1.3m square and 0.25m high, again formed from sandstone blocks and very worn. The base block measures 0.8m by 0.85m and is 0.52m high. On the eastern side the top surface has the initials AH cut into the stone. This is also badly worn. The shaft fragment is 0.34m square and stands 0.60m high. The structure which is Listed Grade II*, is medieval and appears to be in its original location at the road junction. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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. The standing cross at the crossroads in the centre of Woodhey Green survives well in spite of the loss of its head and part of the shaft. It stands in its original location. It is typical in form of local stepped cross bases of the mid to late medieval period. It is a good example of medieval devotional building, and the proximity to Woodhey Hall suggests that it was erected under the patronage of the family who lived there in the medieval period. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 14th December 1999