William Stukeley (1776) reports a standing cross at the spot known as Byard’s Leap. No cross survives, although the hoof prints of the legend are still maintained there.
| Parish/District | Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard’s Leap/North Kesteven |
| Location | Near the point where Ermine Street (B6403) crosses the A17 |
| Category | Lost cross |
| National Grid Ref | c. SK 98970 49286 |
| Designation | None (lost cross) |
| Stone type | N/A |
| Refs | William Stukeley, 1776, Itinerarium Curiousum. p. 87 |
| Visits | DS/HH 10 March 2006 – nothing found |
There is a report of a standing cross at Byard’s Leap in Stukeley’s Itinerarium Curiosum p. 87: ‘here is a cross of stone, and by it, four little holes made in the ground’.
This point is the junction of three parishes and on the line of Roman Ermine Street. There is a ‘Stone’ marked on a triangle of ground here on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map. It is almost certainly a boundary stone and probably Stukeley’s reported standing cross. No cross or stone survives today, but there is a display and information panel marking the legend.
The legend of Byard’s Leap can be found in many sources – there is a good version of it here.
