| Parish/District | Osgodby/West Lindsey |
| Location | In the grounds of Kingerby manor, opposite the church gates |
| Category | ? Wayside cross |
| National Grid Ref | TF 05721 92829 |
| Designation | Listed II |
| Stone Type | Limestone |
| Refs | Davies, D S. 1915, Lincs N & Q, vol XIII, No. 6, p.161-2; Pevsner, N, 1989, The B of E, Lincolnshire, p.415 |
| Visits | DS/DAS: 10 April 2015 |
Davies, in 1915, (p.161) gives a good account of these two intriguing stones which appear to have been reused and rebuilt as gateposts on some now lost pathway from Kingerby Manor to the church. They are on private land, and permission was sought to survey and photograph them.
The socket-stone is 0.75m N-S by 0.74m E-W and stands 0.52m high to bottom of chamfer – the whole height of the stone is exposed on its north side. The top surface of the stone is chamfered and has two opposing dovetail mortices cut into its top surface towards its west side. The dovetails measure 0.24m reducing to 0.18m, by 0.110m and each has a peg hole. The southerly dovetail is damaged where the corner has chipped away. The stone is limestone.
The faces of the socket stone bear the following inscriptions: South Side: PONS EPISCOPI / East Side CON AD 1451 / North side A ChiRo W / West Side DEI (Cross Bottonée) ORA
The ‘shaft’ is an irregular slab of calcareous limestone (Tealby stone) which is worn on two of its surfaces and exhibits opposing damage notches to its corners about half way up. The stone has two holes cut which contain stubs of iron set in lead. The top of the slab is cut flat with no holes. The shaft measures c. 370 x 230mm where not worn and is 1070mm high. The lower (larger) section is 330 x 400mm. DAS speculated it could have been first reused as a threshold – but its primary function is unknown. The two elements may derive from the bridge at Bishopbridge (the former medieval Bishops Bridge over the river Ancholme about two miles west of Kingerby) possibly placed here as a memorial? – but not in 1451.
Adjacent to the stone described above is another – a stepped block on which are set a masonry urn with coats of arms topped with a great masonry pine cone. Possibly from medieval Kingerby Hall – although this is not borne out by the Nattes drawing the Hall.
