| Parish/District | Deeping St James/South Kesteven |
| Location | On a cobbled area at the junction of Church Street and Eastgate, south of the church |
| Category | Market Cross |
| National Grid Ref | TF 15807 09490 |
| Designation | Listed I / Scheduled |
| Stone type | Limestone and sandstone |
| Refs | AP Survey 6 Jan 1994; Blog post by Deepings Heritage Soc; D. S. Davies, 1913, Lincolnshire Notes and Queries, Vol XII No.5, pp136-138 |
| Visits | AP: 6 Jan 1994 | DS/HH: 17 Jan 2006 |
Deeping St James cross is possibly the most written about cross in Lincolnshire on account of its demolition and rebuilding as a lock-up in 1819. The work was carried out by a local craftsman Tailby Johnson at a cost of nine shillings. We do have an image of the remains of the cross before its alteration (c.1800?) and it looks to be a large and impressive structure, although its shaft is missing and a small (iron?) cross has been fixed in its place. It is said to be 15th C in date and had two broad steps with the pyramidal cross base mounted above. The decorative masonry pictured has been re-used in the lock-up conversion.
The present structure is about 4m high and takes the form of a small stone-built chamber surrounded by two steps and surmounted by a medieval cross-base and modern terminal. The steps are square in plan and are constructed of flat slabs resting on coursed limestone and sandstone. The lower step is about 3.7m square and stands up to 0.5m above the surrounding paving. Both steps terminate on the eastern side of the building, and there is a gap on the northern side at the entrance to the internal chamber, which is fitted with a wooden door with an iron grille. The chamber is lined with whitewashed brick and there is a recess in each of the east, south and west walls forming a series of seats with chains. This chamber dates from 1819 when the cross was rebuilt as a lock-up. Immediately above the door lintel is the roof of the chamber, formed on the inside of a tapering, brick-built cone and on the outside of a chamfered plinth upon which the medieval cross-base rests. The cross-base consists of a quadrangular slab of worn limestone, the sides of which are ornamented with architectural panels in the Perpendicular style of the 15th century. This stone is now surmounted by a band of crenellation inscribed with crosses and the words ‘REBUILT 1819’. Behind the crenellation is a chamfered plinth of quadrangular section upon which rests another slab, sharply chamfered, which tapers upwards to a carved architectural fragment.
For many years there was a street lamp mounted on the apex of the structure, but this was removed when the cross was renovated by the local parish council in 1999. The monument was formally ‘opened’ by broadcaster John Timpson.
While driving through Deeping St James we noticed an odd pyramidal stone by the roadside bearing a house-number (46) and with a curious groove around its top as if it as once used for securing mooring ropes or some such. (See photograph below) We could find no local knowledge of its origins.
Deeping St James market cross following its 1999 makeover, Streetlamp removed and a new information sign nearby
