St Nicholas, Partney. The cross is to the south of the nave (centre right) (Photo: Julian Guffog)
Parish/DistrictPartney/East Lindsey
Locationc. 10m south of the chancel) of St Nicholas’s church
CategoryChurchyard cross
National Grid RefTF 41053 68343
DesignationScheduled / Listed II
Stone TypeLimestone (set on modern brick plinth)
RefsAP Survey 19 Oct 1994; Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.6, pp. 175-176; Walker, G G, 1898, Historical Notes on the Parish of Partney, p. 21
VisitsAP: 19 Oct 1994 | DS/HH: 30 Jan 2001

The churchyard cross at St Nicholas church, Partney, is remarkable on account of the deeply carved figures of the evangelists on the four corners of its socket stone – Rare, but not unique (c.f. Friskney, Great Steeping and Silk Willoughby) the winged symbols of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle (for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are depicted on the socket stone. They are carved at each corner, with a plain shield between them on the flat sides. 

There is some damage to the carved figures:  the winged man (south side) is seated on a chair with a book on his lap, but his head is missing; the lion (north side) has some of its body and a bit of hairy beard, but the head and feet are gone; the ox has most of its body and a cloven hoof, but its head and front legs are missing; and the eagle has its body and clawed feet, but its head and legs are gone.

The cross is located c.10m south of the chancel of the church and, although restored in the 1890s, it looks to be still in the same position as drawn by J C Nattes in 1790 (see below). It is intriguing that the cross, which seems clearly visible in the 1790 drawing, is reported by G G Walker to have been ‘ buried two feet in the ground‘, by 1890. A newspaper report of 8 November 1890 reports that the then vicar of Partney (Revd E A Allanson) ‘had discovered a very old monument . . . underneath the ground in the church-yard at Partney‘. One can only speculate that the extensive building and restoration work on Partney church (the chancel rebuilt in 1828, and the nave restored in 1862) had resulted in the burial of the cross base and possibly the separation of the shaft from its socket. Revd Allanson’s funding campaign for restoration was clearly successful as G G Walker (who followed Allanson into the incumbency in 1893) reports that the cross had been raised to its present position – and indeed, the cross is now set on a brick-built plinth. We noted marks on the north face of the shaft where a plaque or escutcheon has once been fastened, perhaps recording these events.

The formal description of the cross – from AP’s scheduling notes – is as follows: ‘The foundation of the cross is partially visible above ground, where two courses of red brick support the base of the cross. The base takes the form of a socket stone, a limestone block approximately 0.9m square in section at the base with chamfered edges. It is about 0.45m high. At each corner of the socket stone is a winged figure carved in deep relief, now headless, symbolising one of the four evangelists . . . Carved on the middle of each side, between the figures, is a plain chamfered shield. The top of the socket stone is octagonal. Set into it with mortar is a fragment of shaft, rectangular in section at the base (0.4 x 0.37m) and rising upwards through chamfered corners in tapering octagonal section to a height of 1.2m. At the top of the shaft are the remains of four iron pins (?possibly fixings for a sundial).

Partney was an important medieval (and post-medieval) market centre, and we would expect there to be a market cross somewhere nearby. However, the elaborate style of this churchyard cross does not suggest that it ever originated at a market place.

St Nicholas, Partney, drawn by Nattes in 1790, before restoration of the church or cross. The cross is visible on the right of the drawing (south of the chancel) – (c)Lincolnshire Archives – NATTES V3 p167
Partney’s churchyard cross with carvings of the four evangelists on the socket stone
Winged figures carved at corners of Partney socket stone: top left, a man; top right, a lion; bottom left, an ox; and bottom right, an eagle.
Top of the shaft showing four iron pins set in lead
Partney

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