The cross in Ingoldmells churchyard was restored as a war memorial in 1920. Only the socket stone and the lower part of the shaft are medieval
Parish/DistrictIngoldmells/East Lindsey
LocationA few metres south of the nave of St Peter and Paul church
CategoryChurchyard cross (restored as war memorial)
National Grid RefTF 55954 68822
DesignationListed II
Stone TypeLimestone
RefsAP survey 14 June 1995; Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.5, p.157
VisitsAP: 14 June 1995 | DS/HH: 29 Sept 2005

The cross at SS Peter & Paul, Ingoldmells was ‘restored’ and converted to a war memorial which was unveiled on Sunday 5 September 1920. The original components used in the war memorial cross are the socket stone and a short length of the shaft.

Davies recorded it before its conversion and states: It stands on a foundation of bricks, the base is a square stone 36 ins, each way and 10 ins, deep, with a set of numerals for a dial on the narrow sloping edges, and the inscription cut on the flat surface round the shaft. The shaft is 12 ins. sq. and 4 ft. 2 ins, long.

The restored cross has a concrete base, with three stone steps and a chamfered stone plinth bearing the inscriptions to the fallen. Abovethe stone plinth lies the medieval socket stone with the shaft rising from it. The socket stone (0.9m square and 0.32m high) has an inscription of its upper surface and inscribed numbers around its chamfer. The inscriptions read (w): CHRISTUS (s): SOLUS MIHI (e): SALUS ~ 1600 MB (n) IO:CLERKE  (broadly: Christ is my only salvation AD 1600. M.B.). The numbers are a clock dial and read backwards: 9 8 7 6 5 / 3 2 1 : 12 11 / 6 5 – the base acted as a sundial with the shaft as a gnomon.

The tapering shaft is set in the socket with lead and is 0.31m square at the base with roll-moulded corners. The lower 1.22m of it is medieval with two modern sections now attached and a canopied crucifix on top.

It seems that the cross was moved when the restoration was carried out. The  25” 1906 O.S. map shows a dot for the cross to the south of the church, in line with its eastern wall. Ingoldmells lost its chancel in 1666 and the old position of the cross was on the line of the chancel arch (a common location)  – however, it is now set about midway along the south side of the nave.

Ingoldmells cross now has four new steps and a stone plinth bearing the names of the fallen in WWI. The medieval socket stone sits on top – it has clock-face numbers around its chamfer as the base and shaft originally served as a sundial
A report of the unveiling of the cross on Sunday 5 September 1920, from the Lincs Standard of 11 September 1920
Ingoldmells cross – The inscription on the upper face of the socket stone
Ingoldmells

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