Wayside crosses and Celtic inscribed stones are found in Cornwall in large numbers; the inscribed stones (about 40 in number) are thought to be earlier in date than the crosses and are a product of Celtic Christian society. It is likely that the crosses represent a development from the inscribed stones but nothing is certain about the dating of them. In the late Middle Ages it is likely that their erection was very common and they occur in locations of various types, e.g. by the wayside, in churchyards, and in moorlands. Those by roadsides and on moorlands were doubtless intended as route markings. A few may have served as boundary stones, and others like the wayside shrines found in Catholic European countries. Crosses to which inscriptions have been added must have been memorial stones. According to W. G. V. Balchin "The crosses are either plain or ornamented, invariably carved in granite, and the great majority are of the wheel-headed Celtic type." Their distribution shows a greater concentration in west Cornwall and a gradual diminution further east and further north. In the extreme northeast none are found because it had been settled by West Saxons. The cross in Perran Sands has been dated by Charles Henderson as before 960 AD; that in Morrab Gardens, Penzance, has been dated by R. A. S. Macalister as before 924 AD; and the Doniert Stone is thought to be a memorial to King Dumgarth (died 878).Balchin (1954), pp. 62–63
Celtic art is found in Cornwall, often in the form of stone crosses of various types. Cornwall boasts the highest density of traditional 'Celtic crosses' of any nation (some 400). Charles Henderson reported in 1930 that there were 390 ancient crosses and in the next forty years a number of others have come to light.Hardy, Evelyn (1972, April/May) "Hardy's runic stone?", in: London Magazine; New series, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 85–91; citing Henderson's Cornwall: a Survey (1930), made for the Council for the Protection of Rural England In the 1890s Arthur G. Langdon collected as much information as he could about these crosses (Old Cornish Crosses; Joseph Pollard, Truro, 1896) and one hundred years later Andrew G. Langdon has done a survey in the form of five volumes of Stone Crosses in Cornwall, each volume covering a region (e.g. Mid Cornwall) which the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies has published.1: North Cornwall; 2: Mid Cornwall; 3: East Cornwall; 4: West Penwith; 5: West Cornwall. There are 2nd eds. of nos. 1, 2 and 3. N.B. The two Langdons are unrelated.
Similar crosses are also found on Dartmoor in Devon.
In modern times many crosses were erected as war memorials and to celebrate events such as the millennium. "Here is an example of continuity in cultural traits extending over many generations: for we can look beyond the medieval cross to the inscribed stone and even farther back to the prehistoric mênhir, and yet bring the custom right up-to-date with the twentieth-century war memorial."—W. G. V. Balchin (1954).Balchin, W. G. V. (1954) Cornwall: an illustrated essay on the history of the landscape. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 63
"The Celtic crosses found in their hundreds at the roadside, in churchyards, towns and in the open landscape ... are the most pervasive and memorable evidence of the presence of Christianity across medieval Cornwall. They were long considered to be pre-Conquest but it is now believed that they began to be erected in the 9th century with the majority dating between then and the 13th century, though documentary evidence suggests that some were still being put up as late as the mid 15th century. Two of the best pre-Conquest examples are St Piran's Cross near St Piran's Oratory, mentioned in a charter of 960, and King Doniert's Stone (a cross shaft) near St Cleer commemorating Doniert's death in 875. Most crosses are of granite and they are especially numerous ... in the Cardinham area and ... around Sancreed, with smaller clusters in Wendron and Lanivet. The most distinctive is the Celtic wheel-head design, which has many variants, but there are significant numbers of holed crosses that are pierced right through, and numerous Latin crosses. The most elaborate are the larger and more decorated churchyard crosses ... Their purpose is varied: the most common is the wayside cross to mark directions, and there are also a large number of boundary crosses... Some are memorial crosses and a few are true village or market crosses, though some of the latter have been adapted from wayside crosses. In situ crosses are rare, with many rediscovered, relocated and re-erected since the later 19th century, and more still coming to light today."--Peter Beacham.Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014) Cornwall. (The Buildings of England.) New Haven: Yale University Press; p. 23
Crosses in East hundred Parishes C - Q In the churchyard of Callington there is a Gothic lantern cross. It was first mentioned by the historian William Borlase in 1752. Each of the four faces of the cross head features a carved figure beneath an ogee arch. The heads of these figures have been chiselled off, no doubt in the Commonwealth period.Langdon, A. G. (2005) Stone Crosses in East Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 26
In the churchyard of Laneast is a four-holed Cornish cross (fig. a1) which was found in 1952 buried in the churchyard. The lower part of the shaft and the base were made in 1954.Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014) Cornwall. (The Buildings of England.) New Haven: Yale University Press; p. 269 There is a Cornish cross on Laneast Down (fig. a2). It is unusual in being made of Polyphant stone rather than granite; the two sides of the head are elliptical and have Latin crosses.Old crosses 1896, p. 163
There is a Cornish cross at Treniffle in the parish of Lawhitton; it was found built into an old barn at Tregada Farm about 1883 and then placed in her garden by Mrs. Morshead.Old crosses 1896, p. 186
Arthur Langdon (1896) records two Cornish crosses in the parish of Lewannick: one is Holloway Cross at a road junction one and half miles north of the churchtown; the other is a cross head in the grounds of a house called Trelaske.Old crosses 1896, pp. 166 & 185Wayside cross 95 m WSW of Trelaske House, ref. no. 1004238
Arthur Langdon (1896) records a Cornish cross and a cross base at North Coombe; and another cross base at Sturt's Corner, both in the parish of Linkinhorne.Old crosses 1896, pp. 89 & 423 Andrew Langdon (1996) records the cross at Northcoombe (it was set up on a stone in 1908).Langdon, A. G. (2005) Stone Crosses in East Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; pp. 45–46
A stone wayside cross was found at Hendra Farm, Menheniot, in the early 1960s. It had been buried upside down in the ground to form a gatepost. In 1991 the two separate pieces of the cross were repaired and erected on a new base near Hendra farmhouse.Langdon, A. G. (2005) Stone Crosses in East Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 49
Arthur Langdon (1896) recorded a Cornish cross in the grounds of Trebartha Hall, North Hill; it had been found built into the gable of a nearby cottage.Old crosses 1896, p. 259
There is a Cornish cross in the churchyard of Quethiock. An account of its discovery was published in the Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall; vol. 7, 1882. Arthur Langdon said of it: "Undoubtedly this is a magnificent monument, and in regard to height is, with the exception of the cross in Mylor churchyard, since discovered, the tallest in Cornwall".Old crosses 1896, pp. 398–401
Parishes S - T There is a Cornish cross at Carracawn in the parish of St Germans.Old crosses 1896, p. 201
There are two stone crosses in the churchyard of St Ive. One is a Latin wayside cross which was found in use as a gatepost in one of the glebe fields near the churchyard in 1932. A month later it was erected in its present position. The other is an incomplete cross which was found in the vicarage garden in 1965. In 1982 it was erected in the churchyard.Langdon, A. G. (2005) Stone Crosses in East Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; pp. 39–40
In the churchyard of St Stephens-by-Saltash is a Gothic lantern cross. This cross was first recorded by Joseph Polsue in 1872; it stood for many years in the vicarage garden. In the 1970s it was resited in the churchyard. Andrew Langdon is of the opinion that it originally stood in the churchyard.Langdon, A. G. (2005) Stone Crosses in East Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 65 There is a Cornish cross at a road junction between the village of Trematon and the castle.Old crosses 1896, p. 215
There is a Cornish cross in the churchyard of St Thomas-by-Launceston, found when the church was rebuilt in 1869–70.Old crosses 1896, pp. 93–94
A stone cross stands by the side of the road at Crafthole, Sheviock. It was first recorded in 1858 as a cross without a base. By 1896 it was standing on a base; in the 1950s it was removed to the side of the road from its previous site in the middle. Crafthole was granted a weekly market in 1315; it has been suggested that this cross was the market cross.Langdon, A. G. (2005) Stone Crosses in East Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 63
There is a Cornish cross in the churchyard of Tresmeer. According to Arthur Langdon it was formerly in the churchyard of Laneast. He observed it in the 1890s placed at the head of the grave of a late vicar of Tresmeer.Old crosses 1896, pp. 209–10
Crosses in Kerrier hundred Parishes B - L
In the churchyard of Breage there is an unusual Hiberno-Saxon cross head.Pevsner, N. Buildings of England: Cornwall (1951; 1970) (rev. Enid Radcliffe) Penguin Books (reissued by Yale U. P.) ; p. 46 There is a Cornish cross in the churchyard at Godolphin Cross. In 1886 it was moved to the churchyard having been found in use as a gatepost on the Chytodden estate.Old crosses 1896, pp. 252–53
There are two Cornish crosses (illustrated Fig. b6) in the parish of Budock; both are in the churchyard. There is also a cross base at Nangitha.Old crosses 1896, pp. 45–46 & 84–85
Andrew Langdon (1999) lists twelve stone crosses, or parts of crosses located in the parish of Constantine. One of these was carved and erected in 1991. Several have been transferred from other sites. The stone cross at the cross-roads in High Cross was found in 1992 and re-erected nearby at the crossroad, in April 2000.Stone Crosses: Andrew Langdon (Dyffresyas Crowson – Protector of Crosses) Stone crosses in West Cornwall (including The Lizard), The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, 1999 (Cornish Cross series No. 5) . Langdon holds that place-names starting "Lan" indicate the location of a Burial Ground, not a church or monastery (p. 3, section d). The items listed in the book in Constantine are numbered 18 to 29. Arthur Langdon (1896) recorded six Cornish crosses in the parish; in the churchyard, at Bosvathick, at Merthen, at Nanjarrow, at Trevease and at Trewardreva (illustrated Fig. b8).Old crosses 1896 In 1993 a medieval stone cross was found built into a collapsing Cornish hedge at the junction of the road from Constantine to Penryn and the road from Mawnan Smith (illustrated Fig. b9).
There is a Cornish cross (illustrated Fig. b10) in the churchyard of Cury; it is probably the old churchyard cross but was found in a ditch nearby in 1849 and set up in its present position.Old crosses 1896, pp. 267–68
The small cross in Gunwalloe churchyard was found in the 19th century and taken to Penrose. At a later date it was placed in the churchyard.Old crosses 1896, pp. 69–70