| Parish/District | Crowle and Ealand/North Lincs |
| Location | In the churchyard of St Oswald’s Church, Crowle, c. 5m south of nave |
| Category | Churchyard cross |
| National Grid Ref | SE 77158 12970 |
| Designation | Listed II |
| Stone type | Limestone |
| Refs | Davies, D S, 1915, Lincolnshire Notes and Queries, Vol XIII No.5, p. 145 |
| Visits | DS/HH: 4 June 2008 |
There is a very important pre-Conquest cross shaft in Crowle church – full info is given in Everson and Stocker, HERE.
Crowle churchyard cross is a large and imposing structure – so much so, that one can’t help but wonder if it was once the market cross, now come to rest in the churchyard – Crowle had a market charter from 1305 and Cross Street forms part of the old market place, although there are no known references to a market cross.
The cross has three broad steps with a massive socket stone set upon them. The steps are un-mortared and very loose. The socket stone is about 0.79m square by 0.58m high and has three chamfered corners with big knobs – the fourth corner is different and has probably been damaged.
The shaft is about 0.35m square with c.1.1m of it surviving – chamfered with corner stops. Pevsner says that this cross is made into a sundial – the sundial is no more, but the top of the shaft has many lead intrusions – which possibly relate to its reuse as a sundial. The socket is also lined with lead. The whole is in well-weathered limestone and has a pleasing, if rickety, look.
But it’s a shame about the sterile churchyard surrounding it . . . it has been stripped of almost everything that a churchyard should have, with just this ramshackle stepped base and cross, with a couple of park benches with a litter bin, fastened down in front of it.
