Details

The monument, which falls into two areas of protection, includes two wayside crosses, both situated in the parkland surrounding Menabilly. The southern cross survives as a decorated wheel-head on a length of shaft and measures approximately 1m high. The head is decorated on both faces with a St Andrew's-shaped cross in relief, and on the shaft is a T-shaped ornament on one face. It is plain on the other face. The cross originally served as a boundary stone between the parishes of Golant and Lanlivery and was moved to Menabilly in the early-19th century. The northern cross survives as a decorated wheel-head on a fragment of shaft and stands approximately 0.6m high. The head is decorated with an equal-armed cross in relief on both faces. The cross was brought to Menabilly from a field in Methrose in Luxulyan parish in 1890.

Menabilly is a registered park and garden (1642).
The southern cross is Listed Grade II (395128).

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-432241

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Wayside crosses are one of several types of Christian cross erected during the medieval period, mostly from the 9th to 15th centuries AD. In addition to serving the function of reiterating and reinforcing the Christian faith amongst those who passed the cross and of reassuring the traveller, wayside crosses often fulfilled a role as waymarkers, especially in difficult and otherwise unmarked terrain. The crosses might be on regularly used routes linking ordinary settlements or on routes which might have a more specifically religious function, including providing access to religious sites for parishioners and funeral processions. Wayside crosses vary considerably in form and decoration but several regional types have been identified. The Cornish wayside crosses form one such group. The commonest type includes a round, or `wheel', head on the faces of which various forms of cross were carved. The design was sometimes supplemented with a relief figure of Christ. Less common forms include the `Latin' cross, where the cross-head itself is shaped within the arms of an unenclosed cross and, much rarer, the simple slab with a low-relief cross on both faces. Over 400 crosses of all types are recorded in Cornwall. Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval routeways, settlement patterns and the development of sculptural traditions and their survival is somewhat differential because of periods of religious turbulence during the Reformation when many were subject to damage or partial destruction by iconoclasts. Despite having been moved, the two wayside crosses in the park surrounding Menabilly survive comparatively well. They continue to have archaeological interest as well as their acknowledged architectural and historic interest.

Source: Historic England