<< Our Photo Pages >> Rockcliffe (Cumbria) - Ancient Cross in England in Cumbria
Submitted by Anne T on Saturday, 19 August 2017 Page Views: 5452
Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Rockcliffe (Cumbria) Alternative Name: St Mary's Church (Rockcliffe)Country: England County: Cumbria Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Carlisle Nearest Village: Rockcliffe
Map Ref: NY35896162
Latitude: 54.945098N Longitude: 3.002364W
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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Anne T visited on 17th Aug 2017 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 The Rockcliffe Wheel-headed Cross, Cumbria: From the centre of Carlisle, we followed the signs heading north on the A7, out to the large Asda by the M6. Just before junction 44, a road north west into the industrial estate, clearly signposted to Rockcliffe.
This road leads straight into the village, with the church being on the south western corner of the village where the minor road turns right. There is room to park by the main iron gates to the church, next to the mounting block, in a small triangular piece of road.
Immediately inside the gates, the cross is straight in front of you, just to the right of the path leading to the south porch. Nearby is a modern grave marker in a smaller, but similar shape.
The church sits on a promontory, and as you walk down to the south porch a bend of the River Eden comes into view. On the north side of the church the land drops sharply down to Rockcliffe Beck with some graves on the terrace below. Even I was intrigued enough to walk the narrow path along the northern side of the church because I wanted to see the layout of the churchyard.
Sadly the church was locked, as I’d loved to have seen inside.
Historic England List ID 1007169 describes the Rockcliffe Wheel-head Cross as "well-preserved." Their entry adds: "The sandstone cross, which is understood to stand in its original position, stands on a rectangular stone base above which is a shaft topped by a complete wheel-headed cross decorated with interlace and knot patterns along with two bear-like beasts. The style of the cross indicates it to date to the 10th century. The monument is a Listed Building Grade I."
St. Mary's sits on a promontory to the east of a bend in the River Eden and Rockcliffe Beck to the north, both largely hidden by trees, but it is well worth walking towards the south porch to appreciate the glory of the location.
Pastscape Monument No. 10834 has little detail but does tell us the cross is much weathered and dates it to the 10th or 11th century.
More information can be found at the Corpus of Anglo Saxon Stone Sculpture - see their entry for Rockcliffe.
The Diocese information tells us there are 12th and 13th century grave covers inside the church, which is kept locked, so please arrange with a church warden if you want to visit.
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