West Rasen

Parish/District	West Rasen/West Lindsey
Location	in the churchyard of All Saints Church c.3.5m to the south east of the south porch
Category	Churchyard cross
National Grid Ref	TF 06495 89294
Designation	Scheduled / Listed II
Stone Type	Limestone
Refs	AP Survey 4 Aug 1997; Davies, D S, 1915, Lincs Notes and Queries, Vol XIII No.8, p.225; Trollope, Rev E,, 1862, Assoc Archit Reports, Vol VI, Pt II, p.144;
Visits	AP: 4 Aug 1997 | DS/HH: 4 October 2000

West Rasen held a market charter from 1219 and it is thought the market place lay close to the old (packhorse) bridge. No market cross is known . . . unless the rather fine cross in the churchyard of All Saints is the market cross relocated to the churchyard? – There is a local tradition that this is so.

The cross has been restored, with a new shaft and head fastened onto the surviving stump. The date of the restoration is not certain – It was unrestored when noted by Trollope in 1862 but was restored when recorded by Davies in 1915. It is most likely that it was repaired during the 1870 restoration campaign at All Saints, when the nave roof was renewed.

It is a fine cross built on a raised mound, approximately 4.5m in diameter and 0.3m high. It comprises two steps, a socket stone and a portion of shaft. Unusually, the steps (but not the socket stone) are circular in plan. They are formed from nicely shaped limestone blocks – the lower (partly buried) is c.1.6m diameter and the upper c.1.28m.

The socket stone is rectangular (0.76m E-W by 0.65m N-S and 0.35m high) with a chamfered upper edge. The socket is central and rectangular (0.35m x 0.25m) with the shaft rising above moulded and chamfered corners in tapering octagonal section. The lower part of the shaft, which is 0.48m high, is medieval in date while the upper part is the 19^th century restoration. Integral with the upper part of the shaft is the cross head, also modern, which takes the form of a Latin cross with chamfered edges. The full height of the cross is approximately 3m.