Harlaxton village cross is now more of an obelisk than a cross, but its socket stone looks medieval
Parish/DistrictHarlaxton/South Kesteven
Locationon a small green at a road junction in the village centre
CategoryVillage cross
National Grid RefSK 88446 32662
DesignationScheduled / Listed II
Stone typeSandstone and Limestone
RefsAP survey 8 Dec 1993; Davies, D. S., 1913, Lincs N & Q, Vol XII No.5, pp141-142
VisitsAP 8 Dec 1993 | DS/HH 10 May 2006

Harlaxton village cross is located on a small green at a road junction in the centre of the village. It has been restored to create a sort of obelisk, although some parts of it appear to derive from a medieval cross. A newspaper report of 1889 (see below) suggests it was damaged in that year and given ‘an immediate and complete restoration‘ by Mrs Sherwin Gregory.

The base is formed of two steps, both octagonal in plan. The lower step is principally constructed of worn limestone slabs and measures about 2.7m in width and is 0.21m high and 0.43m deep; it is surrounded by a small modern concrete plinth. The upper step is constructed of a green sandstone and is about 0.14m high and 0.36m deep. The lower step is medieval in date while the upper represents a late 19th-/early 20th-century restoration. Also dating to the restoration is the moulded plinth which rests on the upper step; it is octagonal in section and tapers upwards to a height of about 0.33m.

A medieval socket stone is set on the plinth – of white limestone and also octagonal in section. The sides of the socket stone are carved with alternating shields and quatrefoils, now much eroded.

The shaft is set into the socket stone. It is composed of two stones of tapering octagonal section: the lower is broad, measuring 1.7m in circumference at the base, and stands 0.55m high; onto it fits the upper, of white limestone, which tapers to a cone-shaped point. The upper stone is medieval, while the lower was added during the restoration. The full height of the cross is nearly 3m.

The report in the Grantham Journal, 15 June 1889 (left) gives the date of the restoration of the cross in that year, funded by Mrs Sherwin-Gregory – This seems to have has been forgotten when reported in the same Jounal on 11 March 1911.

Harlaxton Village Cross – Detail of the carvings on the octagonal socket stone
Early 20 C postcard of Harlaxton Village Cross
Harlaxton

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