Parish/District | Sibsey/East Lindsey |
Location | in the churchyard of St Margaret’s Church, c.4m south of the south porch (in line with the door) |
Category | Churchyard cross |
National Grid Ref | TF 35447 50725 |
Designation | Scheduled / Listed II |
Stone Type | Limestone |
Refs | AP Survey: 20 Dec 1993; Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.6, p.212 |
Visits | AP: 20 Dec 1993 | DS/HH: not visited | DS: 27 July 2024 |
There is a churchyard cross directly in line with the doorway of St Margaret’s church at Sibsey. It has a socket stone, which is set on a lower stone (or a plinth), with a portion of shaft surviving.
The base is formed from two stones: the lower stone, which is partially buried, is a plinth with a slight chamfer; it is c.0.84m square and stands about 0.15m above present ground level (actual depth unknown). The upper stone is the socket stone: c.0.71m square with chamfered upper corners and standing to a height of 0.28m. The shaft fragment is set into the centre of the socket stone with lead and is rectangular (0.35m x 0.3m) at the base rising through chamfered and stopped corners in tapering octagonal section to a height of c.0.45m. The top of the shaft fragment is cut straight, with a single central hole.
A newspaper report of 13 November 1920 proposed to restore the Sibsey cross for a war memorial – but it seems this did not happen as Sibsey war memorial, a brand-new standing cross manufactured by monumental masons Thomas Kent of Boston, was unveiled on 11 November 1921. The old cross base is still in situ.
A newspaper report of 10 Feb 1934 announced that a cross head had been ploughed up in a nearby field and returned to Sibsey church. This stone has not yet been seen or recorded.
The Boston Guardian of 13 November 1920 (left) proposed that the cross should converted to form a war memorial – but this did not happen.
On 10 Feb 1934 (below) the Boston Guardian reported that a cross head had been found.