Monument record 10271 - Medieval High Cross

The medieval High Cross stood as the focal point of a market and was typically sited and the main crossroads of a town. They generally date to the 14th century. The original cross was located beside the entrance to St Peter’s Church but replaced in 1476. It was among those monuments destroyed following the fall of Chester during the Civil War in 1646 with the surviving fragments entering into private hands and in the church itself. The position of the cross is shown in Randle Holme's drawing of the Church of St Peter where the base is shown on the steps of the porch (Harl Mss 2073). The pieces of the cross were in the church until 1815 when they were given by the churchwardens to John Cotgreave of Netherleigh, Eaton Road, who had them placed in his garden (1-3).

The upper part was formed of panels with figures of saints, surmounted by an orb and had a shaft and a square base. Its total height was c.16ft. Shown in a drawing by Randle Holme (Harl Mss 2073).

At a later period, c.1890 (4), the upper portion was moved to the Grosvenor Museum. The shaft and square base were presented to the 'Ladies of Llangollen' c.1817 and in 1909 were reported to be in the grounds of 'Plas Newydd', Llangollen (1-3). The fragments of the cross were re-erected near the Newgate in 1949, but in 1975 they were restored to their original position outside St Peter's in commemoration of European Architectural Heritage Year (5)

In 1979 construction work at the Cross identified buried remains of the possible medieval or earlier cross fragment (10)

<1> Simpson, F., 1909, A History of the Church of St Peter in Chester (Book). SCH78.

<2> Hemingway, J., 1831, History of Chester, from its foundation to the present time. Volume 1, 1/405-409 (Book). SCH1436.

<3> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Ormerod G 1882 1/368 (Book). SCH1389.

<4> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 470240 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

<5> Harris, B.E., 1979, Bartholomew City Guides - Chester, /15 (Book). SCH394.

<6> Pevsner N & Hubbard E, 1971, The Buildings of England: Cheshire, /165 (Book). SCH3078.

<7> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ46NW55 1976 (Index). SCH2487.

<8> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

<9> Lewis C.P & Thacker A.T. (eds), 2005, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume Vii, The City of Chester - The City of Chester, Culture, Buildings, Institutions (Book). SCH6522.

<10> Grosvenor Museum, Various, Photographic Archive from Various sites excavated by the Grosvenor Museum in Chester (Photographic Archive). SCH7251.