Sheffield Cross

Last updated

Engraving showing detail of one face of the Sheffield Cross SheffieldCross.png
Engraving showing detail of one face of the Sheffield Cross

The Sheffield Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross, dating from the early ninth century. It is the shaft of a stone high cross that was rediscovered hollowed out and in use as a quenching trough in a cutler's workshop in the Park district of Sheffield. John Walter Staniforth removed the cross and kept it in his garden,[ citation needed ] before it was later donated to the British Museum in 1924, where it is now kept. [1] The shaft is carved with a vine motif, a figure with a bow and arrow placed amidst the tendrils; similar figures are found on the Ruthwell Cross and an ivory in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and their significance has been much discussed. [2] The head of the cross is missing.

The style of the cross is Mercian, and it is the most northerly known example of this type. It resembles crosses from Bakewell and Eyam, and David Hey uses the similarity of the vine scrolls in the Eyam and Sheffield crosses to hypothesise a single craftsperson. [3]

At the time of its discovery the prevailing theory was that the Cross originally stood on the future site of Sheffield Parish Church (now Sheffield Cathedral). [1] A cross outside the church is recorded to have been demolished in 1570 during the English Reformation. [2] Another theory holds that it was originally from Derbyshire. [4]

Several crosses in Sheffield survived the Reformation, including the Market Cross, Irish Cross and Townhead Cross, but all are now lost.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High cross</span> Free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated

A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. These probably developed from earlier traditions using wood, perhaps with metalwork attachments, and earlier pagan Celtic memorial stones; the Pictish stones of Scotland may also have influenced the form. The earliest surviving examples seem to come from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, which had been converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries; it remains unclear whether the form first developed in Ireland or Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallamshire</span>

Hallamshire is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, approximating to the current City of Sheffield local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyam</span> Village and civil parish in Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire, England

Eyam is an English village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales that lies within the Peak District National Park. There is evidence of early occupation by Ancient Britons on the surrounding moors and lead was mined in the area by the Romans. A settlement was founded on the present site by Anglo-Saxons, when mining was continued and other industries later developed. However, Eyam’s main claim to fame is the story of how the village chose to go into isolation so as to prevent infection spreading after bubonic plague was discovered there in 1665.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hathersage</span> Village in Derbyshire, England

Hathersage is a village and civil parish in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. It lies slightly to the north of the River Derwent, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) south-west of Sheffield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Bradfield</span> Village in South Yorkshire, England

High Bradfield is a rural village 6.5 miles (10 km) north-west of the centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England and within the city's boundaries. The village lies just within the Peak District National Park, 1.3 miles (2 km) inside the park's north-eastern border, is at an altitude of 260 metres (850 feet) AOD, and has extensive views across Bradfield Dale towards Derwent Edge and the Dark Peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Bradfield</span> Village in South Yorkshire, England

Low Bradfield is a village within the civil parish of Bradfield in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated within the boundary of the city of Sheffield in the upper part of the Loxley Valley, 6¼ miles west-northwest of the city centre and just inside the northeast boundary of the Peak District National Park. Low Bradfield and the surrounding area is noted for its attractive countryside which draws many visitors from the more urban parts of Sheffield. At weekends the village can become quite crowded, especially when there is a match on the village cricket pitch. Low Bradfield which stands in the shadow of Agden Reservoir has a sister village High Bradfield which is located at a higher altitude, ½ mile to the northeast. The two villages are joined by the steep Woodfall Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield Cathedral</span> Church in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, more commonly known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914. Sheffield Cathedral is one of five Grade I listed buildings in the city, along with the Town Hall, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, and the parish churches at Ecclesfield and Bradfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derby plague of 1665</span> Bubonic plague outbreak in Derby, England

During the Great Plague of 1665 the area of Derby, England, fell victim to the bubonic plague epidemic, with many deaths. Some areas of Derby still carry names that record the 1665 visitation such as Blagreaves Lane which was Black Graves Lane, while Dead Man's Lane speaks for itself. It has been claimed by some historians that bodies were buried standing upright at St. Peter's Church, Derby, but this legend has been refuted by experts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Sheffield</span> History of the English town

The history of Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in a clearing beside the River Sheaf in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The area now known as Sheffield had seen human occupation since at least the last ice age, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the city did not occur until the Industrial Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglo-Saxon art</span> English art of the Anglo-Saxon period

Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of England, whose sophisticated art was influential in much of northern Europe. The two periods of outstanding achievement were the 7th and 8th centuries, with the metalwork and jewellery from Sutton Hoo and a series of magnificent illuminated manuscripts, and the final period after about 950, when there was a revival of English culture after the end of the Viking invasions. By the time of the Conquest the move to the Romanesque style is nearly complete. The important artistic centres, in so far as these can be established, were concentrated in the extremities of England, in Northumbria, especially in the early period, and Wessex and Kent near the south coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trident Studios</span> British recording facility

Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Blazey</span> Town in Cornwall, England

St Blazey is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsoken</span> Human settlement in England

Walsoken is a settlement and civil parish in Norfolk, England, which is conjoined as a suburb at the northeast of the town of Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easby Cross</span>

The Easby Cross is an Anglo-Saxon sandstone standing cross from 800–820, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. It originally came from Easby near Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, where a plaster replica is kept in the church. Easby was then in the Kingdom of Northumbria. The width of the long faces at the bottom of the lowest fragment is 31 cm (12 in), with a depth of 18 cm (7.1 in), and the whole cross would originally have been up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) high.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St James' Church, Midhopestones</span>

St James’ Church, Midhopestones is situated in the small rural hamlet of Midhopestones, just within the northern boundary of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Since April 1969 it has been a Grade II* listed building. St James is small church which is often referred to as a chapel, in fact it is situated on Chapel Lane. The church is officially dedicated to James the Less and not James the Greater although there has always been some confusion. Some modern historians and clergy maintain that the church should be dedicated to James the Greater as the scallop shells carved above the church door are the traditional emblem of James the Greater. It is possible that it was re-dedicated to James the Less in the Victorian era because of the smallness of the church. The church is in the Parish of Penistone within the Diocese of Wakefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary and St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street</span> Church in County Durham, England

The parish church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is a Church of England church in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. The site has been used for worship for over 1100 years; elements of the current building are over 950 years old. The oldest surviving translation of the Gospels into English was done here, by Aldred between 947 and 968, at a time when it served as the centre of Christianity from Lothian to Teesside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westleigh, Greater Manchester</span>

Westleigh, a suburb of Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, is one of three ancient townships, Westleigh, Bedford and Pennington, that merged in 1875 to form the borough of Leigh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monifieth Sculptured Stones</span>

The Monifieth Sculptured Stones are a series of five class II and III standing Pictish stones from the early Medieval period found in or around St Regulus' church in Monifieth, Angus, Scotland. Uncovered during the demolition of a pre-Reformation church and its kirkyard wall in the 19th and 20th centuries, the stones are now housed in the collection of the Museum of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art in Medieval Scotland</span>

Art in Medieval Scotland includes all forms of artistic production within the modern borders of Scotland, between the fifth century and the adoption of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. In the early Middle Ages, there were distinct material cultures evident in the different federations and kingdoms within what is now Scotland. Pictish art was the only uniquely Scottish Medieval style; it can be seen in the extensive survival of carved stones, particularly in the north and east of the country, which hold a variety of recurring images and patterns. It can also be seen in elaborate metal work that largely survives in buried hoards. Irish-Scots art from the kingdom of Dál Riata suggests that it was one of the places, as a crossroads between cultures, where the Insular style developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margam Stones Museum</span> Museum of early Christian carved stones in Port Talbot, South Wales

Margam Stones Museum is a small Victorian schoolhouse near Port Talbot, South Wales, which now provides a home for one of the most important collections of Celtic stone crosses in Britain. All originally found within the locality of Margam, and mostly assembled as a collection in the 19th century, they provide enduring testimony to a Welsh Christian culture between the 6th and 16th centuries. The striking Cross of Conbelin is the most celebrated example. From around 1000 AD, it is a huge disc cross with Celtic interlace and plaitwork patterns, figurative scenes including a hunting scene, and inscriptions telling us who made it and who erected it. There are 17 early Christian stones, plus 11 memorials and other stones from the post-Norman periods. The museum is run by Cadw, the Welsh historic sites agency, and is close to Margam Abbey Church and the ruins of the Abbey buildings.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Monument No. 314520". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  2. 1 2 British Museum - Stone cross shaft Archived 2012-12-23 at archive.today
  3. David Hey, Medieval South Yorkshire
  4. Neville T. Sharpe, Crosses of the Peak District (Landmark Collectors Library, 2002)