<< Our Photo Pages >> Exley Head Cross - Ancient Cross in England in Yorkshire (West)
Submitted by brigantia on Friday, 19 October 2007 Page Views: 6697
Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Exley Head CrossCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 0.6 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Yorkshire (West) Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Keighley Nearest Village: Exley Head
Map Ref: SE0481840146
Latitude: 53.857518N Longitude: 1.928234W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Ancient Cross in West Yorkshire
Only the base of this old cross remains, right by the main roadside on the B6143, between Keighley and Oakworth. It's about a mile up the main road from Keighley, on the left-hand side upon a small grassy area in Exley Head, just past the turning up to Wheathead.
The base is typical of the many found scattering Yorkshire (several I've found aint in any of the archaeo-registers) and Lancashire: squared at the base, with a large hollow at the centre into which the upright stone cross was originally erected. Archaeologists have speculated the Exley Head Cross dates from between 9th-11th century.
The Northern Antiquarian (TNA) also has a page for this cross base - see their entry for Exley Head Cross, Keighley, West Yorkshire - which includes directions for finding the base together with photographs and a brief archaeology & history. TNA add: "In the past, a number of archaeologists and historians have speculated that the Exley Head Cross dated from as early as the 9th up till the 15th century. We may never find out for certain, though it’s likely a post-Domesday medieval relic. It’s position at the roadside gives it the category of being a ‘Wayside Cross’ and it is likely one in a deliberate sequence that were placed along the ancient route from above Keighley, to Oakworth and over the border into Lancashire, near Wycoller and beyond."
The cross base is also recorded as Pastscape Monument No. 48216 which tells us: "Originally the cross stood in the road on a series of sloping circular steps."
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