Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

This site is entirely user-supported. See how you can help.

Boundary cross, Mareham Lane

A Scheduled Monument in Burton Pedwardine, Lincolnshire

We don't have any photos of this monument yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Coordinates

Latitude: 52.9648 / 52°57'53"N

Longitude: -0.3871 / 0°23'13"W

OS Eastings: 508426.205077

OS Northings: 342039.087315

OS Grid: TF084420

Mapcode National: GBR GSJ.4Y7

Mapcode Global: WHGKF.0RY0

Entry Name: Boundary cross, Mareham Lane

Scheduled Date: 14 February 1940

Last Amended: 26 August 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1009233

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22641

County: Lincolnshire

Civil Parish: Burton Pedwardine

Traditional County: Lincolnshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Lincolnshire

Church of England Parish: Scredington St Andrew

Church of England Diocese: Lincoln

Details

The monument includes a medieval boundary cross situated on the east side of
the Roman road, Mareham Lane, on the north western edge of the parish of
Scredington. It includes a base and shaft.

The base takes the form of a single socket-stone of quadrangular section, the
upper surface of which measures about 0.8m square and includes traces of a
stepped chamfer. The remainder of the base is buried. Set into the middle of
the socket-stone is the shaft, the lowest part of which is of plain
rectangular section and formerly concealed by the original upper surface of
the socket-stone, but now visible. The main part of the shaft is roughly
rectangular in section. Each corner is moulded in the form of a part-octagonal
shaft; on the shorter, north and south, faces the columns are immediately
adjacent, while on the east face they are linked by another shaft of rounded
section with a quirk on each side. The west face is largely plain, with a
bench-mark in the lower part and two small holes above. The top of the shaft
has been roughly rounded off and includes further holes. The full height of
the shaft above the base is about 0.8m.

The monument includes a 1m margin around the cross which is essential for the
monument's support and preservation. The cross is also Listed Grade II.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 1 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone,
mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD).
Standing crosses served a variety of functions. In churchyards they served as
stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm
Sunday. Elsewhere, standing crosses were used within settlements as places for
preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of
sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between
parishes, property, or settlements. A few crosses were erected to commemorate
battles. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and
protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market
places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some
crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for
example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the
scenes of games or recreational activity.
Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have
numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation
has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and
religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by
iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval
standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The
oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft
often set directly in the ground without a base. The most common form is the
stepped cross, in which the shaft is set in a socket stone and raised upon a
flight of steps; this type of cross remained current from the 11th to 12th
centuries until after the Reformation. Where the cross-head survives it may
take a variety of forms, from a lantern-like structure to a crucifix; the more
elaborate examples date from the 15th century. Much less common than stepped
crosses are spire-shaped crosses, often composed of three or four receding
stages with elaborate architectural decoration and/or sculptured figures; the
most famous of these include the Eleanor crosses, erected by Edward I at the
stopping places of the funeral cortege of his wife, who died in 1290. Also
uncommon are the preaching crosses which were built in public places from the
13th century, typically in the cemeteries of religious communities and
cathedrals, market places and wide thoroughfares; they include a stepped base,
buttresses supporting a vaulted canopy, in turn carrying either a shaft and
head or a pinnacled spire. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our
understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our
knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which
survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their
original location, are considered worthy of protection.

The standing cross on Mareham Lane is a good example of the remains of a
medieval boundary cross. Situated by the side of the Roman road, it is
believed to stand in or near its original position. It has not been restored,
and limited disturbance of the area immediately surrounding the cross
indicates that archaeological deposits relating to the monument's construction
and use in this location are likely to survive intact.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Trollope, E, Sleaford, and the Wapentakes of Flaxwell and Arwardhun, (1872), 39
Davies, D S, 'Lincolnshire Notes and Queries' in Ancient Stone Crosses in Kesteven, , Vol. XII no.5, (1913), 148
Other
AM107,
copy held by Hilary Healey, (1932)

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument, planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.

AncientMonuments.uk is a Good Stuff website.