Wellingore village cross in its original position – in the centre of the village
Parish/DistrictWellingore/North Kesteven
Locationon a small green at the road junction with the A607 in the northern part of the village – moved here from the village centre in 1931
CategoryVillage cross
National Grid RefSK 98381 56794
DesignationScheduled / Listed II
Stone TypeLimestone
RefsAP Survey 15 Dec 1993; Davies, D S, 1913, Lincs Notes and Queries, Vol XII No.5, p.149; Cole, Roger, 2007, Wellingore Past and Present;
VisitsAP: 15 Dec 1993 | DS/HH: 24 August 2012

There is a fine village cross at Wellingore which has been moved from the centre of the village to a small green at the northern end of the village. The move was carried out in 1931 when the village High Street was by-passed to allow motor buses to pass through without mishap. The village cross was in the way of the new A607, Cliff Road. A photograph in the booklet Wellingore Past and Present shows the cross being reconstructed on its present site.

The cross comprises three steps, a socket stone and a short length of shaft. All the materials in the relocated cross appear to be medieval in origin, although the new cross is set on a concrete foundation. The original cross was recorded by Davies in 1913 and the more recent surveys by AP and DS/HH show that the dimensions of the steps remain the same following the relocation. They are 2.04m; 1.70m; and 1.25m square respectively. The top step is very worn down in the middle of the north and south sides, and there is the stub of an iron fitting near the south western corner.

The socket stone is set on the top step: a single limestone block measuring 0.87m square in section at the base and 0.58m in height. The sides of the stone are chamfered and the upper corners moulded.

The fragment of shaft, 0.3m square and 1.04m high, is set into the socket stone. The top has been shaped to a low pyramid. It does not taper. There are deep vertical grooves in the north, south and east sides of the shaft, and one across the top, and a range of ancient and modern graffiti including ‘Jesus Christ Rules’ on the west face of the socket stone. Possibly pertinent for a standing cross!

Newspaper reports of the moving of the cross 8 January 1931 (Lincs Echo)(right) and 12 December 1931 (Sheffield Telegraph) (below)

1886 O.S. 25″ Map of Wellingore showing the original and later location of the cross (Map: N.L.S.)
A photograph in ‘Wellingore Past and Present’ shows the cross being reconstructed on its new site
Wellingore village cross in its present setting adjacent to the busy A607
Wellingore

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