Parish/District | Great Steeping/East Lindsey |
Location | c. 10m south of the nave of the old church (formerly All Saints) at Great Steeping |
Category | Churchyard cross |
National Grid Ref | TF 43478 63921 |
Designation | Scheduled |
Stone type | Limestone |
Refs | AP survey 19 Oct 1994; Davies, D. S., 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.5, p.148. |
Visits | AP 19 Oct 1994 | DS/HH 30 Jan 2001 |
Great Steeping has an important cross base in the churchyard which is in poor condition and in need of detailed recording.
The socket stone is about 10m south of the centre of the nave. It is c. 0.8m square in section, now partially buried and standing to a height of about 0.3m above the present ground surface. At each corner is a complete winged figure carved in deep relief symbolising one of the four evangelists: on the north east corner a man (St Matthew), on the south east an ox (St Luke), on the south west a lion (St Mark) and on the north west an eagle (St John). Carved on the middle of each side, between the figures, is a plain shield. The socket stone is broken into two pieces, slightly parted, and in the top is a rectangular socket filled with two small fragments of limestone which represent the base of the shaft.
Lying on the ground surface adjacent to the east side of the cross is a loose fragment of a cross-shaft, 0.66m long, made of sandstone; this piece is not considered to have been an original part of the cross.
In my notes of 23 years ago, I comment ‘definitely needs drawing’ – Sadly that is still true!