<< Our Photo Pages >> St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) - Ancient Cross in England in Cumbria

Submitted by Anne T on Tuesday, 10 July 2018  Page Views: 1513

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
Country: England County: Cumbria Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Aspatria  Nearest Village: Gilcrux
Map Ref: NY1173438176
Latitude: 54.730788N  Longitude: 3.372197W
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.
 4 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
 5

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Anne T visited on 14th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 St Mary's Church, Gilcrux: The little car park outside the church was full (3 cars and a Water Board van), so we had to park just west of the well and walk back to the church – only a little way. The church door was open for us this time. This is a remarkable little church inside. At first site, the nave appears more like a Methodist chapel – at first glance. Then my gaze lit on the archway into the chancel, with a ‘squint’ over the right hand column and a chunk taken out of the eastern side of the left hand column. Walking into the chancel is very reminiscent of Escombe Saxon Church – this place is ancient and very peaceful. The collection of stones was underneath a table against the south wall, near the porch, so we turned into furniture removers, carefully taking the notice board, vases and loose notices off the table, then moving the table to examine and photograph the pieces. We managed to put together the pieces of the cross head and part of the shaft, and photographed two sides. One of the pieces left white, chalky marks on our hands, and is very white against the grey of the other two pieces. This is clearly the cast of the upper part of the cross head. We closed the church door to indicate to the keyholder we’d been in and left again, and walked round to the north side of the church, where it is very obvious that the church has been built on a mound. There was no church guide book, but there were some ‘notes for visitors’ which I photographed, and have typed into my walk journal. The spring was in full flow, and it was lovely to hear it babbling away. Brilliant. Definitely worth a return visit.

Anne T visited on 9th Jul 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Viking cross head and shaft fragments, St Mary's Church, Gilcrux: We arrived here to find the outer screen door open, but the door into the church very firmly locked. To say this was disappointing was an understatement, as the building looking fascinating with a lot of history from the outside. I have since exchanged emails the vicar, who is arranging for the church to be opened for us on either 13th or 14th August.



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 4 Access: 4.5

St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : One side of AS Corpus Gilcrux 01 - three fragments which fitted together like a small jigsaw to form part of a cross shaft and cross head. The white piece is a cast of a fragment which had disappeared by 1899. Only two of the original pieces remain. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Cross in Cumbria

The church of St Mary's in Gilcrux (pronounced Gilcrew) is recorded as Historic England List ID 1275717 and Pastscape Monument No. 9453. Whilst the structure dates from the early 12th century, with some later 12th and 13th century additions, the Diocese of Carlisle says there has been a church on this rise at the north end of the village since around 1100. The chancel and sanctuary bear some similarities to Escombe Saxon Church; the building is very old.

We wanted to visit to see AS Corpus Gilcrux, part of a cross shaft and head in three adjoining fragments. Dating from the 10th century, this cross fragment is displayed inside the church, along with a triskele (Viking) shaft fragment built into the interior tower wall. The Corpus says the "combination of both circle and ring head forms is unique". The entry for Gilcrux in Wikipedia says there is also an Anglo Danish cross built into the gable on the roof (although I am unable to verify this at the current time). Just underneath this cross is an ancient, weathered head, which is said to pre-date the church.

Another interesting feature is the gatepost to the western side of the gate on the southern wall of the churchyard - this looks like it was an old drinking trough, now repurposed as a gatepost. Inside the church, at the south eastern entrance to the sanctuary there is a large squint. There is also an unusually crudely fashioned Norman 'cushion column' font just inside the south door.

The church is kept locked during the day; if you wish to visit, please contact the vicar in advance to arrange for one of the church wardens to open the church - see the 'A Church Near You' website for contact details. Whilst there is no church guide book, there is a comprehensive set of notes for visitors.
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St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : Not really an ancient monument, but something that intrigued me - the western gatepost on the southern entrance into the churchyard appears to be an old drinking trough repurposed as a gatepost. Not seen any of these before! (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : The other side of AS Corpus Gilcrux 01 - three fragments which fitted together like a small jigsaw to form part of a cross shaft and cross head. The white piece is a cast of a fragment which had disappeared by 1899. Only two of the original pieces remain. (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : The head, only just visible under the cross on the external east gable (photo taken in full sun; even with polaroid filter it was difficult to see) is said to predate the church, which was built in the late 11th or early 12th century. The notes inside the church say there was a preaching cross on the site in AD 980. (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : An old grave marker with an incised cross, propped against the corner of the eastern internal wall of the porch and the south wall of the nave. The shape and size of the carving reminded me very much of the incised cross on the Tallon Standing Stone in Argyll we saw recently. (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : The collection of stones and architectural fragments, including the parts of AS Corpus Gilcrux 01, stored under the table, just to the east of the porch, against the south wall, inside the church. The chancel and sanctuary are very reminiscent of Escombe Saxon church.

St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)
St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) submitted by Anne T : We may not have been able to see the Viking cross head and shaft fragment, but we did spot this underneath the window in the southern external wall of the sanctuary. The notes inside the church say it is the remains of a grave slab, recut for use as a lintel.

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"St Mary's Church (Gilcrux)" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: St Mary's Church (Gilcrux) by Anne T on Tuesday, 10 July 2018
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As soon as we've managed to revisit this church, hopefully in mid-August, to see the Viking cross head and shaft fragments, I'll replace this image with one of the cross head. Apologies in the meantime.
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