Stapleford
Cross
By
Rev. A. D. Hill, Transactions of the
Thoroton Society, 10
(1906)
 |
Staplford
Cross. circa 1906 |
This
splendid shaft, the oldest ecclesiastical
monument of Nottinghamshire now standing,
is said to have been placed in its present
position at a cross road in 1760. Previous
to that it was lying in the churchyard, perhaps
nearer to its original site. The square base
on which it now stands was re-constructed
in 1820, when the square cap, surmounted by
a ball, was added to the shaft.
It
appears as a cylindrical shaft, about 10 ft.
high, but is CROSS more accurately described
as square, with rounded faces tapering to
a square at the top, from which the cross
head probably sprang. The diameter of the
shaft at the base is about 2ft. it has three
bands of surface sculpture, divided by horizontal
lines. The two lower portions are covered
with interlaced ornament of continuous scrolls,
more or less showing a change of pattern on
each of the flattened sides. The central band
especially is of wonderful intricacy of lines
alternately forming the diameter and circumference
of the pattern with which the surface is covered.
The
upper part, where the shaft becomes square,
is much worn, except on one face, which has
upon it a symbolical birdlike figure
with wings trampling upon a serpent. Close
observation reveals the head to be that of
an ox with horns, probably the emblem of St.
Luke. The other faces may have borne the emblems
of the other Evangelists. Dr. G. P. Browne,
now Bishop of Bristol, was the first to point
out the meaning of the figure, and he suggests,
as an interesting corroboration, that Stapleford
feast is governed by St. Luke’s day,
or rather “old St. Luke’s,”
which corresponds to our October 30th. “Feast
Sunday is the last Sunday in October, unless
that be the last day, and then it is the last
but one;” this is the rule still recognised
by Stapleford inhabitants. Of course the feast
Sunday could not be on October 31st, for then
the week could not include old St. Luke’s
day. (The Conversion of the Heptarchy. Browne.
S.P.C.K.). The church is dedicated to St.
Helen, but we have, no doubt, in this cross,
the record of a still older dedication of
the locality by the earliest Christian teachers
in these parts.
 |
| Stapleford
Cross in 2002. It has been moved into
the churchyard for its own protection
(© A Nicholson, 2002). |
Two
questions of interest arise in connection
with this monument. Whence came the art with
which these wonderfully intricate scroll-work
patterns are produced? What is the probable
date of the Stapleford cross?
The
earliest Anglian example of the scroll-work
is without doubt to be found on the great
cross at Bewcastle, which from its inscriptions
can be dated 670. This is earlier than any
of the Irish work, which is usually described
as the original source of the art. Following
Bishop Browne, I think we must look to the
influence of Byzantine art, through Lombardy,
where similar work is found, brought perhaps
to this country by Wilfrith and Biscop, as
giving the impulse which produced the Lindisfarne
school of ornament, the interlacement of continuous
flowing bands, so especially developed as
an Anglian characteristic, both in manuscript
and masonry.
The
latter half of the 7th century saw the conversion
of the kingdom of Mercia to Christianity,
after the death of the stout old heathen,
Penda, through the influence of the Northumbrian,
Oswy, and his son, Alchfrith, who is commemorated
on the Bewcastle cross, and of the saintly
Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, The 8th century
saw its rise to supremacy among the kingdoms
of the Heptarchy.
Nottinghamshire,
as a borderland between two great kingdoms,
must have often felt the tide of conquest
swaying this way and that, and the erection
of a great cross close to the stream, which
marks the county boundary, may have had a
civil as well as an ecclesiastical significance.
The village, as Mr. W. Stevenson has suggested,
derives its name of Staple-ford from the tall
shaft (A.S. Stepel, whence our word steeple,
or stapol, a prop or post), which, from the
style of its ornamentation and the circumstances
of the times, was probably erected between
A.D. 680 and 780.
By
Rev. A. D. Hill, Transactions of the Thoroton
Society, 10 (1906)
Thanks
to A. Nicholson for the source of
text and pictures: www.nottshistory.org.uk
|
The
Saxon Cross standing in St Helen's churchyard
was probably erected in about 1000AD and is believed
to be the oldest Christian memorial in Nottinghamshire.
It is over three metres tall and features many
interlacing carvings including a symbol of St
Luke treading on a serpent.