| Parish/District | Gedney Hill/South Holland |
| Location | c. 2m south of the porch of Holy Trinity church |
| Category | Churchyard cross (and war memorial) |
| National Grid Ref | TF 33868 11261 |
| Designation | Listed II |
| Stone type | Limestone and bricks |
| Refs | A P Survey 28 Jun 1995; Davies, D. S., 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.5, pp129-157 |
| Visits | AP: 28 June 1995 | DS/HH: 20 Dec 2005 |
This is a wonderful muddle and miscellany of a cross.
There is a drawing of Gedney church, including the cross, done by J C Nattes c.1800 and although the cross is incidental to the drawing, Nattes has drawn it in its five-sided form (sort of) and shows a tall base and socket stone with a large piece of surviving shaft.
It is described by Davies in 1915 before its conversion to a war memorial. He states: ‘The chief features of this cross are the five sided foundation and base, and the height of the remains of the shaft. It stands on the south side of the church within a couple of yards of the porch, on a foundation of bricks and stone measuring 41 ins, high and having five unequal sides, on its south side there are two steps. On this foundation stands a five-sided stone 9 ins. high and resting on this is the “base“ of the cross, formed of two stones also five-sided measuring 28 ins, high, each side is 21 ins, wide at the bottom and 20 ins, at the top, into this is fixed a fine column or shaft which is about 10 ft. long and 10 ins. sq. at the bottom, then octagonal to the top.‘
In 1921 a new cross head was made for the cross and a bronze plaque recording the names of the fallen was affixed to it. It seems that few other alterations were made.
Gedney cross is unusual in being constructed on a five-sided design. The base is also five sided, although somewhat irregular, and is a glorious mix of limestone and coursed brick with two stone steps on the south side. The base is topped with a stone plinth (they look like reused stones) with the socket stone mounted on top. It is made of two 5-sided blocks which stand c. 0.7m high. There is a slight chamfer round the top edge. The shaft is rectangular (0.26 x 0.23m) and set into the socket with lead and patched up with mortar. The shaft has very worn broach stops and then tapers up to c. 3m – all in a single stone. The knop is ‘embattled’ and could well be part of the original; the cross head (a canopied crucifix) is the war memorial addition of 1921, as is the brass plaque set on the west face of the socket stone.
Left – Press report of the ‘restoration’ (Grimsby Telegraph 4 May 1921)
and Below – the plaque on the cross base.
