| Parish/District | Firsby/East Lindsey |
| Location | The socket stone has been placed by the S porch (E side) The WM incorporating the shaft is 5m south of Nave/chancel junction |
| Category | Churchyard cross (part converted to War Memorial) |
| National Grid Ref | TF 45512 62624 (S/S) TF 45509 62617 (WM) |
| Designation | Listed II (S/S) Listed II (WM) |
| Stone type | Limestone |
| Refs | AP Survey 9 Oct 1994; D. S. Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.5, pp129-157; Allen, T., 1834,Hist of Lincoln, vol 2 p.147; Bonney’s Ch Notes, p.178; |
| Visits | AP: 9 Oct 1994 | DS/HH: 17 Nov 2005 |
Firsby’s churchyard cross is mentioned in Allen (1834, p.147): ‘In the churchyard, at a short distance from the porch is a pillar of stone, which it is probable, at one time had a sun dial on its top’, and in Bonney’s Church Notes (for 1847): ‘Stump of cross S. side of the churchyard’ and Davies describes it thus: ‘The lower half of the base is square, and the upper half octagonal. It measures 31ins. by 32ins. The shaft is 5ft. 2ins. long and x111/2 ins. square at the bottom.’
The cross was re-purposed after World War I for the Firsby war memorial, but only the shaft (with a new portion added) was used. Presumably the original socket stone did not have a large enough or suitable surface for the inscription of the names, so a new socket stone was made. The original one is rather unceremoniously ‘dumped’ at the side of the porch. It is 0.78m square at the base with moulded and chamfered corners to octagonal at the top. It is c.0.33m high. The socket is c. 0.29 x 0.31m.
The lower part of the shaft in the war memorial is c. 0.28 x 0.29 rectangular with chamfered corners to a tapering octagonal section. The medieval part is 1.38m high, joined to a modern extension with cross head. The modern stone base and step is probably much larger than original – possibly just the cross base set on the ground.
The war memorial is positioned c. 5m south of the line where the nave and chancel join – a typical position for a churchyard cross. It is possible that the WM is on the original cross position, although it encroaches very close to 18C graves.
