Pre-Norman Stone Crosses in the British Isles

Maen Achwyfan is the name given to a monolithic cross to be found standing in a field near Whitford in Flintshire. Some authorities claim that the name translated from the Welsh means the stone of lamentations, but the Welsh would have to be Maen Achwynfaen for that, a small but significant difference. I prefer to think that the name means the stone of our Cwyfan, especially as on some old maps, the name is spelt Maen-y-chwyfan. Cwyfan was one of the Celtic saints of north Wales, who originated in Ireland, and became a disciple of St. Beuno. Settlements bearing the names of St. Beuno and St Cwyfan (as in Llangwyfan) are situated only a few miles from this cross, in the vale of Clwyd, and it can't be insignificant that the nearest place to Maen Achwyfan where another of these crosses is to be found is at Dyserth, Denbighshire, in the Church dedicated to Saints Bridget and, yes, Cwyfan. So, the stone of St. Cwyfan, then.

It's easy to miss the monument unless you know exactly where it is (or have access to a GPS unit into which you can program the precise co-ordinates that I have helpfully provided above). An Ordnance Survey map is a real boon to make sure you don't get lost in this part of the world - a motoring atlas just doesn't measure up, as I know to my cost, because many of the single-track roads hereabouts are simply not included, so you can come to a four-way crossroads, and on your map, it's only three-way. The cross is not situated near to any modern religious buildings, although in the Mediaeval period monks from Basingwerk Abbey were known to meet in a small chapel in the vicinity.

The panel containing a representation of a person with a spear trampling a serpent

The carvings on the cross are intricate, detailed and very varied. In one panel, illustrated above, there is a figure of a spear-carrying man, who is trampling down a serpent on a ground of whirls. Although some authorities list his as a unique design that is difficult to interpret, in fact it is an almost exact copy of a design found on the shaft of a cross at Burton-in-Kendal in Cumbria.

In other panels there are basket-work and a design based on a saltire cross. Down the sides of the cross shaft, there are other carvings, including a person and some animals as well as a couple of series of interlocking rings. The wheel-head of the cross, illustrated below, consists of a series of concentric circles, enclosing triquetrae which make up the cross, and a central boss with a cross carved into it, surrounded by four circular pellets.

The wheel-head of the Maen Achwyfan - a black-and-white image enhanced to reveal detail

There is something mystical about this cross, and the fact that it has stood in this spot for a thousand years. Maen Achwyfan is unlike most of the other pre-Norman crosses in Wales: whilst there is something Northumbrian about the character of the carvings, there are also features more usually seen on Viking monuments. Also it does not carry any visible inscriptions, so it's hardly surprising that the official notice (below) can't reach a conclusion about the purpose of the cross. Suffice it to say that this, one of the greatest crosses in the whole of Great Britain, has borne witness to the Christian faith of the person or persons who caused it to be erected for a thousand years or more.

The story of the cross told in the plaque on the enclosure.
One might wonder why only the warning notice has a Welsh translation...

Don't expect to see a signpost until you are right on top of the cross.
Just keep looking through the gaps in the hedgerows.

Viking ("Anglo-Norse") sites
Gosforth	Aspatria, Burnsall, Dearham, Dyserth, Gosforth, Halton, Hovingham, Lastingham, Maen Achwyfan, Muncaster, Oswaldkirk, Penmon, Penrith, Staveley (North Yorkshire), Sinnington, Stonegrave, Urswick, Waberthwaite

* 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).

This page is a part of Chris Tolley's web-site. Latest update: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 12:03
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