Bottesford Cross and Stocks, Market Street, Bottesford
The Cross is a Scheduled Ancient Monument – National Monument No.30231
SK 8060 3890
Base and lower part of cross shaft; eroded and vulnerable to traffic damage. The former heraldic shields displayed on the corners of the plinth have been badly eroded.
The cross is also listed by the Jewry Wall Museum as a Site of Archaeological Interest, along with the wooden stocks that are located next to the cross. These stocks are of uncertain age, and have been repaired recently by the parish council, following being knocked over by a motorist.
English Heritage provide the following descriptive notes:
The village cross at the junction of Grantham Road and Market Street represents a good example of a medieval standing cross which is believed to stand in or near its original position. Limited activity in the area immediately surrounding the cross indicates that archaeological deposits relating to the monument’s construction and use will survive intact. While much of the cross survives from medieval times, the subsequent restoration of segments of the base illustrates its continued function as a public monument and amenity.
The monument includes the village cross at the junction of Grantham Road and Market Street. The cross is a standing stone cross of medieval and later date and is Listed Grade II. It includes a base consisting of five steps, a socket stone and the remains of a shaft. The steps are square in plan and constructed from ashlar blocks. On the uppermost step stands the socket stone, which is 0.74m square at its base and includes large stop-angles and shields on each of its four faces depicting the arms of the de Roos family. Set into the centre of the socket stone is the shaft, of square section at its base, rising through chamfered corners in tapering octagonal section to a maximum height of 0.97m. The full height of the cross is 2.47m. The shaft, the socket stone and the majority of the lower three steps are thought to date from the 15th century. The top two steps are modern repairs. The surface of the path, the road, the kerb, the road sign, the electrical box and the fence posts and paved area around the adjacent stocks are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.
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