Beckingham churchyard cross – A bit of an oddity, and with a distinct list to starboard!
Parish/DistrictBeckingham/North Kesteven
Locationc. 35m south of the nave of All Saints church
CategoryChurchyard cross (?)
National Grid RefSK 87563 53761
DesignationScheduled
Stone typeLimestone
RefsAP survey 15 Dec 1993
VisitsAP: 15 Dec 1993 | DS/HH: 5 July 2011

A stone shaft with a stepped base standing at a crazy angle – very unusual but presumably(?) a cross shaft (it’s scheduled as one!).  Unusually, this is not noted by Davies. The shaft is 1m to base of knop plus 80mm of knop. It is slightly chamfered and tapers. Measures 0.29 x 0.28m near base. No sign of a socket stone (above ground) and the suggestion from the scheduling description is that ‘this is a good example of the integral base, shaft and knop of a medieval standing cross.’

The description and dimensions from Hist Eng as follows: The base is rectangular in section, measuring 0.55m x 0.26m; the north and south sides are chamfered above towards the base of the shaft, which measures 0.3m x 0.22m in section. The shaft tapers slightly upwards with chamfered corners terminating near a platform-like knop at the top, which is of wider, rectangular section. There are a number of small vertical holes in the upper surface. The full height of the stone above the ground is 1.38m.

The Lincs HER notes ‘now in use as a sundial’ but no visible attachments at time of visit, although the holes noted in top surface may have once been sundial fixings.

Beckingham

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