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<< Our Photo Pages >> Copplestone Cross - Ancient Cross in England in Devon

Submitted by Thorgrim on Thursday, 07 October 2004  Page Views: 18213

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Copplestone Cross
Country: England County: Devon Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Crediton  Nearest Village: Copplestone
Map Ref: SS7706802606  Landranger Map Number: 181
Latitude: 50.809923N  Longitude: 3.746178W
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
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 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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Copplestone Cross
Copplestone Cross submitted by Thorgrim : Granite cross shaft of the 10th century with carved interlace ornament on each face. Carvings also show a figure on horseback and two embracing figures. The cross is mentioned in a charter of 947. The quality of this cross is outstanding for south western England and it compares well with the crosses of northern England. The crosshead is missing and a medieval niche has been added at a later... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Probably the finest Saxon cross in south-western England. Granite cross shaft of the 10th century with carved interlace ornament on each face. Carvings also show a figure on horseback and two embracing figures. The cross is mentioned in a charter of 947.

The quality of this cross is outstanding for south western England and it compares well with the crosses of northern England. The crosshead is missing and a medieval niche has been added at a later date to accommodate a saint's effigy. The cross was moved from its original site nearby in 1969 to facilitate road improvements.
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Copplestone Cross
Copplestone Cross submitted by AngieLake : This is the other side of Copplestone Cross, its pattern nicely highlighted by the rays of early evening sun [approx 7pm on 24th July, 2012]. The cross stands on its own little island in a busy road junction. (Jackie and I had spent the day driving through villages along the NW - North 'frontier' of our target area, dowsing for the direction of a possible Celtic Sanctuary that once existed in ... (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Copplestone Cross
Copplestone Cross submitted by SandyG : View from the west around about 1995. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Copplestone Cross
Copplestone Cross submitted by AngieLake : Copplestone Cross in Mid Devon. Sunny morning of 28th April 2006. (See site info page for latest findings). (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Copplestone Cross
Copplestone Cross submitted by tonyg : Eastern face of the cross, August 2016. The figure on horseback (or donkeyback?) in the top panel may represent the entry of Christ in Jerusalem. The lower (and more indistinct) panel used to be clear enough to see "two embracing figures" which might represent Adam & Eve or possibly the Visitation. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SS7702 : Old Wayside Cross on the A377 in Copplestone by Alan Rosevear
by Alan Rosevear
©2019(licence)
SS7702 : Anglo-Saxon Copplestone Cross, Copplestone by Jaggery
by Jaggery
©2015(licence)
SS7702 : Copplestone Cross by roger geach
by roger geach
©2011(licence)
SS7702 : Copplestone hairdressing salon by Jaggery
by Jaggery
©2015(licence)
SS7702 : Copplestone houses and Copplestone Cross by Jaggery
by Jaggery
©2015(licence)

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"Copplestone Cross" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Copplestone Cross Street View by Andy B on Sunday, 18 April 2010
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Re: Copplestone Cross by Anonymous on Thursday, 11 March 2010
I am currently writing my master's dissertation on the carved saxon stones of devonshire and will hopefully be submitting a copy to English Heritage, as it will include a full condition report and environment report, lets hope it will add some weight to the argument that the cross needs to be better protected. anyone interested in my dissertation can contact me at fleurfulcher@hotmail.co.uk
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Re: Copplestone Cross by AngieLake on Saturday, 29 April 2006
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A little while ago Tracey Brown, editor of Wisht Maen, Devon Earth Mysteries magazine between 1993-1997 noticed the mention I made of Nymets or 'nemetons' (meaning 'sacred grove') on another site page. She had written an article in Wisht Maen Issue 4, called "A Sacred Bus Journey", touching on the Nymets, Bow Henge, a ruined chapel at Broadnymet, etc., and I managed to track it down at Devon Local Studies Library recently.

Many villages in the Mid-Devon area go by the name ".......nymet", or "Nymet.......", or "........nympton". Because of the name it is speculated that there is a link with possible druid activities in these old woodlands, and there are several churches with 'Green Men' images (Sampford Courtenay and Colebrook get a mention), which could possibly be a reference to the overhead branches of ancient worshipping places before Christianity took over. A large but ploughed-out Henge was found near Bow, 6 miles east from Sampford Courtenay. This could be more important even than Exeter Cathedral, which was built on an ancient pagan site. The Holy See was once at Crediton, just a few miles ESE of the henge. Copplestone, where this cross is situated in the centre of the village, is about a mile and a half east of Bow.

To quote from Tracey's very interesting article:
"Then we come to dear old Copplestone Cross. I have been fascinated by this for some time, particularly whilst investigating Bow and The Nymets, and was convinced this old cross must be connected. Whilst perusing one of the Transactions of the Devonshire Association in the Exeter Library....... I came across an address given to the Association in 1876 by R. J. King, concerning a Charter of Eadgar AD 974. This was 10th century so not as old as I'd hoped, since Boniface was 7th century and Martin of Tours 4th century, but it concerns a grant of three 'hydes' or 'mansas' of land at a place called Nymed, which once encompassed Copplestone. A considerable extent of country at the time of the charter seems to have been known as Nymed or Nymet. This area was more than likely wooded, Devon and Cornwall having a sparser population than that of most of the other parts of England and therefore clearing less farming land. Morchard Bishop to the NW of Copplestone was once called Morchet in the Domesday Book, as was Cruwys Morchard. Morchet is a Celtic word relating to the Welsh 'mawr' (great big) and 'coed' (wood), the 'Morchard' being the later English for orchard (orceard).

Copplestone itself is named after the cross which is mentioned as the starting and returning point in the boundaries of Nymed granted by Eadgar. The cross stands at the meeting place of three parishes - Crediton, Colebrook and Down St. Mary. The name may mean the 'headland stone', or the 'chief stone', since the old English word 'cop' means 'head', 'summit', or 'chief'. It may also mean the 'headless' stone, since the old name for it was spelt 'Coplestan', and the cross has not had a top since time immemorial.
According to King, its antiquity "exceeds that of any other monument of its class in Devonshire" and it is the only stone cross this side of the Tamar which displays Celtic interlaced carvings "which are comparatively common in the north of England - the ancient Northumbria - and sometimes found in Cornwall."
It stands on the extreme border with the great parish of Crediton, which, long before any date we can assign to the cross, had become the principal possession of the bishops of Devon, in AD 909.

It has been alleged that the cross was erected in the year AD 905 in memory of Bishop Putta who is said to have died in the village square. Nobody really can explain the meaning of the carvings, reproduced here from the 1876 drawings which even then were much eroded. (I won't post these without Tracey's permission. note: the NE side is the one with the figure on horseback and the two figures hugging.) The socket on the south-east side was added at a later date, maybe after the loss or destru

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    Re: Copplestone Cross by Anonymous on Monday, 22 December 2008
    Our Cross has recently, just last week in fact, been hit by a car seriously damaging the base, which luckily is not ancient. The Cross itself is still intact. We are hoping that English Heritiage will be able to persuade Devon County Council that the Cross needs more protection. As AngieLake says in her interesting article the village is now seeing a lot more traffic and the cross is surrounded by junctions. We are not sure what form the protection will take and we may have to sacrifice some aesthetic for the long term safety of the Cross.
    There are various thoughts about the reason for the cross being where it is and I suppose we will never know for certain.
    There was also a de Copplestone family in the area, based I think at Eggesford.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Copplestone Cross by AngieLake on Tuesday, 23 December 2008
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    Hello and thanks for this update on the cross at Copplestone.
    I'm very sorry to hear of the recent collision with the base of the monument but very glad the cross escaped intact, as it is one of the highlights of my journey to North Devon from Newton Abbot.
    I was born in Braunton and return monthly to visit an elderly uncle, choosing to travel on the 'old' road, as it is so much more picturesque. Also, I pass Eggesford, where my dad was born in 1904, the 9th child of 10, of William Manning who worked on the railway there. His grandfather Aaron Manning came from Iddesleigh, so I'm proud to say I'm a real Devonian, (though Gran came from Wilts... which I'm also very proud of!)
    Copplestone has changed a lot in recent years with the new housing estates, which I don't think have done much to improve the village.
    (It would be unkind of me to say this if the housing was much-needed accomodation for local youngsters buying their first homes, but I suspect differently!)
    Caution is needed when driving past that central area, and the traffic lights have been some help. Hope the situation gets resolved satisfactorily before damage IS done to this lovely old stone.
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