| Parish/District | Stixwould/East Lindsey |
| Location | in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, approximately 9m to the south of the nave |
| Category | Churchyard cross |
| National Grid Ref | TF 17679 65864 |
| Designation | Scheduled / Listed II |
| Stone Type | Limestone |
| Refs | AP Survey 8 March 1994; Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs N & Q, Vol XIII No.6, p.217 |
| Visits | AP: 8 Mar 1994| DS/HH: 23 July 2012 |
There is a fine churchyard cross 9m south of the nave of St Peter’s church at Stixwould, although it has an alarming lean to the south.
Nattes drew Stixwould church in 1797 and included the churchyard cross in his picture. One can never be quite sure of the accuracy of Nattes’s details – especially the peripherals – he shows a chamfered octagonal socket stone on a single step with an octagonal shaft rising from it. This is only loosely correct, however, he does show a fine knop and remnants of a cross stem (which one presumes he must have seen) – all of which are now sadly absent.
Davies comments that the cross is: ‘on a mound . . . Some of the steps may be buried . . .’, however, little of the mound now remains – AP thinks the whole structure may have been excavated and reassembled at some point in the past and Kelly’s Directory of 1885, states “In the churchyard is a restored cross‘.1 The church itself was entirely rebuilt in 1831 and enlarged in 1864 so some disturbance to the cross would not be surprising. The cross was positioned near to the original entrance (south door) of the church, but the main door was moved to the north side when the church was rebuilt in 1831.
The step is c.0.18m high (i.e. above ground) c.1.55m square in plan and composed of very worn slabs. Several parts are loose or missing. On it stands the chamfered plinth, which is about 1.15m square by 0.2m high, formed of shaped slabs mortared together (mortar now largely absent).
The socket stone is impressive – 0.93m square and 0.47m high with very boldly moulded and chamfered corners. The corner chamfer is formed with a deep groove, leaving a triangular ‘knob’.
The socket is central to the stone and is c.0.43m square. The shaft is c.0.41m square and set in the socket with lead. It is plain for 0.24m, then has a pyramidal chamfer and roll moulding to an octagonal tapering shaft. The total height of the cross is estimated at 3.5m.
1 My thanks to Rob Wheeler for info on this matter
Stixwould. Kelly’s Directory, 1885, states “In the churchyard is a restored cross.” One wonders what the restoration amounted to. No previous directory mentions it. So is there any reference to it between 1797 and 1885?
Thanks for this Rob – I don’t have an 1885 Kelly’s so I missed this. White’s 1856 does not mention a cross and Kelly’s 1930 just says ‘In the churchyard is an old cross’.
The only reference I have for the period 1797-1885 is Bonney in 1847 (p.156) who just says ‘A large portion of cross S. side of ch. yard.’ – but he is always laconic.
The cross looks really quite special in the Nattes drawing and I don’t think Nattes, for all his shortcomings, would have shown the knop if it were not there. The church was pretty much rebuilt in the 19C and standing crosses seem often to have been restored (or at least stabilised) during such works, although this is rarely reported.
So, was the cross ‘restored’ during the repair campaigns of the 1830s or 1840s? . . . and did that entail the removal of the knop – or was it already fallen and lost by that time? Kelly’s usually take their info from other sources, but in this case I don’t know where their info is from. Conway mentions the cross (1904, p.198 and H’castle News 23/6/1894) but does not suggest that it is restored.
That said – this is an interesting addition to the Stixwould story, and I will add it in.
Best wishes
Dave