Cross on the village green at Gelston

The term ‘village cross’ is generally used in these pages for a cross erected in the main gathering place of a village – Usually, this is on the village green (or what was once the village green) although examples may also be found near to, or on the site of, the Manor. In some ways, village crosses are very similar to market crosses, being the location for ceremonial events or important proclamations. They may also be de facto market crosses as minor markets often took place at village centres or on village greens.

Village greens rarely survive and village crosses today may be found relegated to small triangles of grass or tarmac traffic islands. Sometimes, the village green has been incorporated into later gardens and the remains of a village cross may now effectively be on private land. Many have been dismantled and moved and it is almost certain that some of the churchyard crosses listed in the gazetteer are rehomed village crosses.

There were other village facilities that might be placed adjacent to the village cross – Sometimes a stream or well (and later a pump) formed the central point of the village and was where the cross was placed. In the 16th – 18th centuries this often became the site of the village stocks – It is interesting to note that several of J C Nattes’s drawings of Lincolnshire crosses include village stocks – often the only record that exists. By the nineteenth century the groupings can include guide posts and street lights and there are several example where crosses themselves are converted to serve these mundane functions.

Nattes’s drawing of Swinstead in 1804 showing the grouping of cross, well and stocks
Metheringham is one of several examples where the village cross was used as a lamp standard

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