Listed Building record MDO1325 - Langton Cross, Langton Herring

Medieval cross-shaft with a T-shaped head, the remains of a wayside cross probably dating to the 14th century. It may have been a boundary marker for the lands of Abbotsbury Abbey. The shaft is approximately 0.3m square with chamfered edges an 1m high and the T-shaped head 0.5m wide; the top arm is missing. The cross was moved when the road was widened and set in concrete.

This cross is embedded to a depth of 1ft. 7ins. The head has been broken off and the arms are damaged. Probably circa 14th century. It may have been a type of wayside cross, or may have served as a boundary mark of the Abbotsbury Abbey lands. <3>

"A stone monolith with chamfered edges. The top arm is missing and the cross now stands 3 1/2ft. High; the shaft is 1ft square". Langton Cross is presumably of Medieval date. <4>

Langton Herring Cross; Scheduled. <5>

Langton Cross accords with the description and measurements given in authority 3. The edges of the cross are chamfered, and it is now concreted around the base. <6>

(SY 62428243) No change. See ground photograph. <8>

Langston Cross. Grade II*. <9>

Due to road widening, the cross has been moved 9.5m to the NW. No stone base was present. The unweathered buried part of the shaft shows it to made from a fine pale yellow sandstone. <10>

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1903 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 62428243) Stone [NAT]

<2> Pope, A, 1905, Langton Herring cross (Article in serial). SWX1025.

<3> Pope, A, 1906, Old Stone Crosses of Dorset, 56-7 (Bibliographic reference). SWX1408.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 130 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(2) LANGTON CROSS (Plate 12), at the road-junction 1,070 yards E. of the church, is a stone monolith with chamfered edges. The top arm is missing and the cross now stands about 3½ ft. high; the shaft is 1 ft. square. The cross is presumably of mediæval date.'

<5> Ministry of Works, 1953, Ancient monuments in England and Wales : list prepared by the Ministry of Works, corrected to 31st December 1952, 39 (Index). SDO18067.

<6> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 19-APR-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<7> Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, 1959 (Map). SWX1197.

(SY 62428243) Langton Cross [NR]

<8> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F2 JGB 24-APR-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<9> Department of the Environment, 1985, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: District of West Dorset (Scheduling record). SDO16361.

<10> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1986, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1985, 172 (Serial). SDO85.

‘LANGTON HERRING CROSS.
The cross sands to the north-west of the junction of the B3157 and the lane leading to Langton Herring (SY62428244). It is of simple design with chamfered edges, 0.31 m square and 1.07 m high: the top arm is missing (A. Pope, The Old Stone Crosses of Dorset (1906), 56-7; RCHM, Dorset, I (1952), 130). Improvements to the road junction necessitated the cross being moved from its original position to a new site 9.50 m to the north-west. During the move it was possible to examine the setting of the cross. No base stone was present. The cross, however, extends for 0.45 m below the top of the modern concrete in which it had been set. The burial and unweathered part of the stone showed the cross to have been made from a fine pale yellow limestone. ‘

<11> Historic England, Scheduled Monument Notification, 25-Sep-97 (Scheduling record). SDO17468.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 452797 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 25 2024 3:39PM