St Edward the Confessor Ancient Cross : The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map:

<< Our Photo Pages >> St Edward the Confessor - Ancient Cross in England in Staffordshire

Submitted by TimPrevett on Monday, 25 April 2005 Page Views: 11483

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: St Edward the Confessor
Country: England County: Staffordshire Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Leek
Map Ref: SJ9831956617
Latitude: 53.106742N Longitude: 2.026563W
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

3 Ambience:

5	Superb
4	Good
3	Ordinary
2	Not Good
1	Awful
0	No data.

3 Access:

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.

4 Accuracy:

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

5

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I have visited· I would like to visit

lichen visited on 19th May 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

lichen visited on 6th Sep 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5

BrownEdger visited on 3rd Jun 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 4 Access: 5

**St Edward the Confessor** submitted by TimPrevett : Putting both crosses within context of each other; the 8th Century Cross is nearest, the 7th Century Cross to the rear. Click on the blue highlighted text to the top left of the pic for more information. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ancient Crosses in Staffordshire

Two Saxon Preaching Crosses with Anglo-Scandinavian influence, within the graveyard of St Edward the Confessor, with further fragments and The Staff of Life Stone within the church.

Nearest the vicarage is a 7th Century Cross - the tallest of the two; the designs are faded from the lower part of the shaft, but clear near the top; the wheel is broken at the top. Located at SJ 98352 56627, this cross is scheduled as Historic England List ID 1012656

Nearest the entrance to the church, at SJ 98319 56617, is a heavily fragmented 8th Century Cross, the design near obliterated on some faces. Scheduled as Historic England List ID 1012657

The location feels special, and with suitable weather makes for a pleasant place of solace; a sign within the porch of the church reads,"You are on a site of great antiquity, or pre-Christian religious significance", and it is from the churchyard here that the Double Sunset was once visible.

Portal articles on this are here, another here; a video covering the Double Sunset is also to be found on this page of The Megalithic Portal's Shop - The Prehistory of the Peak District & Leek's Amazing Double Sunset - a video by Byron Machin.

In the north west corner of the church is to be a found a small display - The Staff of Life Stone (10th Century) within an arch, and some cross fragments under a table, and another shaft. For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 77883.

The church is situated just to the north west of Leek marketplace, within the town centre.

Astronomer adds :"Situated in the parish churchyard of St Edward the Confessor (site of the famous Double Sunset), this so-called Mercian cross or pillar, thought to date from the 9th or 10th century, is one of about a dozen in NW Mercia with similar architecture; a tapered cylindrical lower section separated from a square or rectangular-section upper pyramid by a band or collar." More information on both the churchyard crosses can be found as Pastscape Monument No. 77855.

The Journal of Antiquities also includes an entry for St Edward’s Church Crosses, Leek, Staffordshire, which includes information about both churchyard crosses, together with a drawing of the Anglo-Norse Cross, and brief descriptions of the display of stones inside the church. The JoA also lists sources of further information.
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