Pre-Norman Stone Crosses in the British Isles

There are some buildings in Leek which go back many centuries, and it is well worth a visit for the architectural historian. The Parish Church of St. Edward is on the top of the hill in the middle of Leek where the main roads come together. A Saxon cross shaft stands in the churchyard.

The shaft has a four-sided cross-section in its upper part, but the lower part is more rounded. A decorated band separates the square and rounder sections. Below the band the only ornamentation is a set of four triquetrae evenly distributed around the shaft, each of which is enclosed within a heart-shaped scroll frame. As it is currently displayed, on a modern base, the south face of the cross consists of three arched cartouches, each containing a knot, while the west face has a kind of rectilinear key pattern. The north and east faces both have plaits, similar to the decoration on the band, though the ribbons in the plaits are of different sizes. A section of the cross-head remains, from which it is possible to see that the entire cross was carved from a single block.

The Cross has some affinities with the smaller one at Brailsford, and another at Ilam. A cross at Stanwick has similar ornamentation to the triangular features below the band on this Cross.

St. Edward's Church overlooks the junction of the A523 and A520 roads at the top of the hill.

* The Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference (and corresponding Latitude/Longitude) given at the top of the pages describing individual sites usually refer to the location of the closest or most prominent entrance to the site where the monument is to be found - e.g. a gate into a churchyard. For monuments located in open country, or at a significant distance from the site entrance as just defined, the co-ordinates usually refer to the exact location of the monument.
Please allow for a small error in the co-ordinates of up to a couple of dozen metres.

Thanks to the people at streetmap.co.uk, if you click on the Grid References in the magenta boxes on the site pages,
you'll see an extract from the relevant Ordnance Survey 1:50000 Landranger map!

As the official mapping agency of the United Kingdom Government, the Ordnance Survey produces the definitive maps of the country. They contain a wealth of information.
For more details, visit www,ordnancesurvey.co.uk/leisure

Click here if you need an explanation of the terminology on these pages

Click here if you would like to see a bibliography

Click here if you would like to download the freeware "Mordred" font (in True-type for Windows)
so that the headings used on these pages will then look like the following:

Click to go to Pre-Norman crosses in:	England	the island of Ireland	the Isle of Man	Scotland	Wales	Read about the Saints
Click to go to Mediaeval crosses in:	England	the island of Ireland	the Isle of Man	Scotland	Wales

Locality maps at this web-site have been developed using Microsoft AutoRoute Express 2000 (and later editions).

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The Cross at Leek, October 2000