| Parish/District | Anwick/North Kesteven |
| Anwick | c. 2m south of south porch of St Edith’s church |
| Category | Churchyard cross |
| National Grid Ref | TF 11455 50628 |
| Designation | Scheduled / Listed II |
| Stone Type | Limestone |
| Refs | AP Survey 2 Dec 1993; Davies, D S, 1913, Lincs Notes & Queries, Vol XII No.5, p. 133. |
| Visits | AP; 2 Dec 1993 | DS/HH; 29 June 2006 | DS: 11 Oct 2024 |
Anwick’s churchyard cross has a most unusual fluted shaft (more like a pillar!) set into a layered socket stone. It is unique in the county. (So unique it may not be a cross shaft!)
The socket stone is square and although it looks as if it is made of two slabs of stone I think it more likely a single block which has spalled and split. The upper layer is in several pieces while the lower one is intact but fractured through in places. Both are cut through by the square socket hole. The socket stone is c.0.87m square with 0.34m above ground (on W side). The socket is c.0.27m square and is set centrally.
A square tenon at the base of the shaft locates into the socket. The shaft is of rounded section (c.0.3m diam) moulded in the form of eight columns of semi-circular section alternating with eight of triangular section. At the base the mouldings are stepped out with a chamfer. The shaft is 0.97m high and terminates in a rounded and chamfered top with a rounded protrusion containing the stub of an iron rod set in lead – this may have been fashioned to enable an upper portion of shaft to be fitted.
This cross shaft is mentioned by Davies in 1913 (Davies, 1913, p.133) but is neither mentioned by Trollope in the 1870s (Trollope, 1872 pp.186-192) nor shown on Nattes 1805 drawing of the south side of Anwick church (LAO Nattes/1/39). Was it found and put on show during Kirk’s 1879 restoration, when a pillar piscina was also discovered?
