| Parish/District | Calcethorpe with Kelstern/East Lindsey |
| Location | c. 7m south of nave on line of chancel arch of St Faith’s church |
| Category | Churchyard cross |
| National Grid Ref | TF 2514 8988 |
| Designation | None |
| Stone Type | Sandstone / Limestone |
| Refs | AP Survey 19 Jan 1998; Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.5, p.157 |
| Visits | AP: 19 Jan 1998| DS/HH: NV | DS: 31 Aug 2024 |
There is an interesting collection of stone objects in the churchyard at Kelstern – only one of which may relate to a standing cross. The grouping of stones is on the south side of the church, about 7m south of the nave, in line with the chancel arch, and comprises a socket stone, a possible shaft and a pile of stone fragments. They will be described in this single report.
The socket stone is small, rectangular and in a brownish stone – probably sandstone. It aligns with the church, and may be in situ. It has a deep chamfer on the top edge and measures 0.53m N-S by 0.68m E-W. It is partly buried with 0.28m showing above ground. The socket is central and is very eroded – I estimate the original socket as 0.15m x 0.25m. It is 0.16m deep. – Whilst this has all the features of a socket stone, it is smaller than the base of most churchyard crosses.
The shaft – probably isn’t a shaft . . . It is massive with a slight lean to the west and has the form of a rectangular block with a gabled top (an isosceles right pentagon) – The scale and shape are wrong for a cross shaft – could it be a massive grave cover stood on its end? It stands to max height of 1.24m with a major dimension of 0.33m. It looks slightly thicker at the bottom than at the top, and the top is quite a rough break with no sign of fixings. There are no discernible markings on it, although it was thick with lichen.
The stone fragments – Six in all – five larger and one small. Probably sandstone (they have a brownish tint). Some have dressed faces and corners but there is nothing really to suggest that these could be cross fragments. One has a square section of 0.26 x 0.26m, but these are probably fragments of walling stone.
So the only candidate for this crosses gazetteer is the socket stone . . . Kelstern is a shrunken medieval village and the present church, although on the site of the medieval church, was pretty much rebuilt in 1886. The positioning of the cross base is unusual as there is no door on the south side of the church, but it may relate to an earlier church and village layout.
The Kelstern ‘shaft’ (left) and a view down its ‘gabled’ east side (below) . . . is it an upended grave slab?
