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<< Our Photo Pages >> Waberthwaite Cross - Ancient Cross in England in Cumbria

Submitted by nicoladidsbury on Wednesday, 27 April 2005  Page Views: 7856

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Waberthwaite Cross
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.641 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Cumbria Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Millom  Nearest Village: Waberthwaite
Map Ref: SD10039510
Latitude: 54.343483N  Longitude: 3.385474W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Anne T visited on 24th Oct 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Ancient crosses, St John the Baptist Church, Waberthwaite: This was our last planned stop of the day and dusk was drawing in. I confess to being a little tired of getting in and out of the car by this time, but a drive down a narrow country lane to reach a cluster of farm houses by the estuary of the River Esk was worth it. Outside the church of St John the Baptist looks derelict and unloved, with the door being guarded by a simple wire frame held shut by a wire closure. Finding ‘Waberthwaite 02’ cross shaft and basewas easy, as it sat immediately to the east of a tall sundial. ‘Waberthwaite 01’ was a bit more of a challenge until I realised it had been laid flat on the plinth of the sundial (verified by the notes inside the church). Simple manipulation of the wire frame in the church porch allowed entry, and the door to the church had been left unlocked - inside it is small but cosy, like stepping back into the 18th century. There are box pews put in by the Victorians and the bells are rung from the outside. Notes in the church read: “The churchyard contains a sandstone sundial, possibly 18th century. Its height is explained by the fact that it was designed to be read by someone on horseback. Behind it is the shaft of an ancient preaching cross. For many years this was part of the lintel of the church porch. The cross head has been lost. It is very worn, but the carving includes interlaced foliage and, on the east face, pictures of a horse and two figures facing one another. Lying on the base of the sundial is another broken cross shaft rescued from the threshold of the porch in the 1800s. Again the cross head is lost. For many years the larger cross was thought to be 9th century or later, but recent archaeological discoveries put it earlier, in the 8th century. This makes the Waberthwaite Cross one of the earliest in West Cumbria. The existence of the crosses is evidence of a very early Christian settlement on this site.” It wasn’t difficult to imagine early Christians stopping off at the site to worship by the cross.

nicoladidsbury have visited here

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by nicoladidsbury : Ancient Anglian/Scandinavian Stone Cross at St John's Church, Waberthwaite. South and East sides, showing the crisp unweathered carving on the south side. The Cross Shaft is 2m high, and quite badly weathered, making it difficult to see the carvings on the main panels, however the edges (north and south sides) are still remarkedly clear. The cross is thought to date from the 9th to 10t... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Cross in Cumbria

High cross shaft in St John's Churchyard, Waberthwaite


Info from magic-map

The monument includes a late ninth/early tenth century Anglo-Scandinavian high cross shaft located in the churchyard to the south of St John's Church, Waberthwaite.

The shaft is constructed of red sandstone and is rectangular in cross section tapering slightly towards the top. It is 2m high, measures 48.5cm wide by 27.5cm thick at its base, and is set into a sandstone socle or base. The shaft is decorated on all four sides. The east face is divided into four panels and depicts animal figures together with roll moulding and interlace carving. The west face depicts a single panel divided by a vertical mounlding into two parallel strips of interlace carving. The north face depicts interlace carving while the south face also depicts interlace with the addition of a bird-like head towards the top of the shaft. This decoration combines Viking period interlace carving with the earlier Anglian artistic tradition of winged birds and animals. The cross shaft was found in 1825 during rebuilding of the church porch and subsequently reused as a lintel. It was moved to its present position between 1884-89 and set in what is thought to be its original socket.

Although the cross head has been lost, the high cross shaft in St John's churchyard displays a good example of ninth/early tenth centuary Anglo-Scandinavian art styles. In particular it represents an impressive fusion of Anglian and Scandinavian artistic traditions linked with a local taste for parallel strips of ornamentation.

National Monument Number 23779

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Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by nicoladidsbury : Ancient Anglian/Scandinavian Stone Cross at St John's Church, Waberthwaite. West and South sides. This tiny church nestles by the tidal estuary of the river Esk, tucked away in a remote and tranquil corner of Cumbria. The church is looking rather forlorn, its doors battened over with strips of wood, but the churchyard is quite idillic in an unassumping, unkempt way. The Cross Shaft is 2m h... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by nicoladidsbury : Ancient Anglian/Scandinavian Stone Cross at St John's Church, Waberthwaite. East panel, unfortunately in shadow, view looking over to the Estuary of the river Esk. This tiny church nestles by the tidal estuary of the river Esk, tucked away in a remote and tranquil corner of Cumbria. The church is looking rather forlorn, its doors battened over with strips of wood, but the churchyard is quite ... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by nicoladidsbury : Ancient Anglian/Scandinavian Stone Cross at St John's Church, Waberthwaite. Western panel. This tiny church nestles by the tidal estuary of the river Esk, tucked away in a remote and tranquil corner of Cumbria. The church is looking rather forlorn, its doors battened over with strips of wood, but the churchyard is quite idillic in an unassumping, unkempt way. The Cross Shaft is 2m high, an... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Antonine : Photo taken in 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Antonine

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Antonine

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Antonine

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Antonine : The Anglian/Scandinavian cross is 2m high and dates to the 9th or 10th century. Photo taken in 2011

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Antonine : The Norman font, inside St John’s church, is carved from a solid block of sandstone, and may have been made from the base of a Roman Pillar. Photo taken in 2011

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Anne T : Close up of one of the narrower faces of 'Waberthwaite 01' which dates from the second half of the ninth century.

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Anne T : Standing at the east end of the church looking towards the Esk Estuary, with Waberthwaite 02 (the taller cross) in the foreground with Waberthwaite 01 lying at the base of the sundial (designed to be read from horseback) behind.

Waberthwaite Cross
Waberthwaite Cross submitted by Anne T : Photograph of the 18th century sundial with (ASCorpus ref) Waberthwaite 01 lying horizontally on its base and the taller Waberthwaite 02 behind. The notes in the church say "For many years (this) larger cross was thought to be 9th century or later, but recent archaeological discoveries put it earlier, in the 8th century. This makes the Waberthwaite Cross one of the earliest in West Cumbria. The...

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