Cross in forecourt of Methodist Chapel, Chapel Street

Summary

Wayside cross in Methodist Chapel forecourt, Chapel Street, Camborne.

Reasons for Designation

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 crosses might be on regularly used routes linking ordinary settlements or on routes which might have a more specifically religious function, including providing access to religious sites for parishioners and funeral processions. Wayside crosses vary considerably in form and decoration but several regional types have been identified. The Cornish wayside crosses form one such group. The commonest type includes a round, or `wheel', head on the faces of which various forms of cross were carved. The design was sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ. Less common forms include the `Latin' cross, where the cross-head itself is shaped within the arms of an unenclosed cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low-relief cross on both faces. Over 400 crosses of all types are recorded in Cornwall. Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval routeways, settlement patterns and the development of sculptural traditions and their survival is somewhat differential because of periods of religious turbulence during the Reformation when many were subject to damage or partial destruction by iconoclasts. Despite having been broken and moved several times the Wayside cross in Methodist Chapel forecourt, Chapel Street, Camborne survives comparatively well and is decorated and relatively simple in design.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 2 December 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes a wayside cross situated in the forecourt of a Methodist chapel in the centre of Camborne. The cross survives as a decorated wheel head with a short length of shaft set into a modern base. The head is decorated on one face with a raised Greek cross and on the other by an incised figure of Christ. The base has a plaque which reads ‘this ancient cross was found at Killivose, Camborne’. It was dug out of a hedge in 1883 and set up in the garden of a house called Trevu. It then moved to 4 Beacon Terrace, Camborne and finally to its present location in 1969.

The cross is listed at Grade II.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

CO 136

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-425863

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