Contributory members are able to log private notes and comments about each site
Sites Anne T has logged on trip number: 132 (View all trips)
View this log as a table or view the most recent logs from everyone
Addiscott Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.1 Date Added: 5th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Addiscott Cross submitted by Anne T on 5th Jun 2019. The cross, taken from half way across the minor road (showing its southern face).
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Addiscott Wayside Cross: Our first stop on this bright, sunny and breezy day, which made us glad to be out of doors.
The Pastscape entry is indeed correct, as the cross is virtually hidden by the surrounding shrubbery and almost impossible to see until we got closer and the sun bounced off its light yellow surface.
A lovely cross, very well made. It looks as if it could have been carved yesterday, although Pastscape dates it to the 14th century and HE to the 15th.
Ringhole Copse Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.2 Date Added: 5th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Ringhole Copse Cross submitted by Anne T on 5th Jun 2019. Standing on the grass verge to the east of the Ringhole Copse Wayside Cross, looking west. Historic England says this cross "(is) on an upland ridge which is the watershed between the valleys of tributaries to the River Yeo and River Taw". With the busy A30 just metres away to the north (right hand side of the cross), the cross felt lonely and isolated. Just think what foot traffic passed it in Medieval times!
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Ringhole Copse Wayside Cross: Not on our original list, but we spotted this cross on the map, with only a minor detour to our next few stops for this morning.
This wayside cross is adjacent to, and just south of, the A30, about 20m west of the road which connects the minor roads running over the A30 . Strangely, it looks as if it is in its original spot, although the HE scheduling information tells me that it was relocated to its present position in 1988 when they improved the A30.
The incised cross on the eastern side is clearly visible, but only part of the carving on the western face is visible under the covering of lichen.
Ring Hill Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.3 Date Added: 5th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 2 Access 4
Ring Hill Cross submitted by Anne T on 5th Jun 2019. A closer look at this tapered stone, lying close to the grid reference point. The fact it had been left (carefully?) by the tree, as opposed to having been deposited roughly with other lumps of stone nearby indicated it might have been important and set aside for a reason.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Possibly the Ring Hill Wayside Cross?: From the Pastscape description, and armed with our GPS, this cross should have been relatively easy to find, but was actually the hardest. We spotted the old footpath coming down the slope and joining the minor road to South Zeal, but the fence posts and gates have been renewed in very recent years. The cross was perhaps 5m to the west of its given grid reference.
There were a few old gateposts lying around near the fence line, so we thought we’d take a very sneaky look. Letting ourselves cautiously in through the gate, we spotted an old granite gate post at the foot of a tree, which matched the description given by Pastscape, so I photographed it. Nearby was the remains of a brick structure, which looked a bit like an old fireplace back, but which is marked as ‘W’ (well) on the HE map.
Oxenham Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.4 Date Added: 6th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Oxenham Cross submitted by Anne T on 6th Jun 2019. Approaching the cross along the minor road to its east, showing the cross high up (the cross base sits 1.8m above the road, on the boundary wall of the field), showing its location at the cross roads of these minor roads.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Oxenham Wayside Cross: This wayside cross was placed high above a cross roads of two narrow, busy minor roads, where it was difficult to stop. I took photos while Andrew moved the car out of the way. I tried to get a photograph from inside the field, but the gate had been nailed shut with wire underneath, so I did the best I could in between tractors, cars and large farm trucks whizzing past.
Moon's Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.6 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Moon's Cross submitted by Anne T on 7th Jun 2019. First view of Moon's Cross as we approached, driving south along Fore Street from South Tawton.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Moon's Cross, between South Tawton & South Zeal: From St Andrew’s Church in South Tawton, we headed south along Fore Street towards South Zeal. At a cross roads just outside South Tawton, there is the remains of a cross shaft in a socket stone. As the road is quite wide here, it was easy to park just south of the cross shaft, near the barn of the nearby farm.
Lying by the side of the cross shaft and its socket stone is a large stone by the side of the cross; at first glance it looked just like a boulder, but closer inspection indicated it might have been shaped. Is this just another gate post, or could it be a cross shaft fragment?
St Andrew's Cross (South Tawton)
Trip No.132 Entry No.5 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
St Andrew's Cross (South Tawton) submitted by Anne T on 6th Jun 2019. The alleged cross shaft, as seen just from its eastern side. Located just inside the gate at the northern side of the churchyard.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Alleged wayside cross shaft, St Andrew's Church, South Tawton: This ‘cross shaft’ (gate post?) can be found at the gate at the end of the path running north from the west end of the church. Whilst it has more recently been identified as a gatepost, it look remarkably like a couple of other cross shafts we’ve seen in the area.
Of more interest was the granite grave cover, located right in the middle of the lych gate. According to the church guide, this is dated to the medieval period and was set in the north jamb of the north doorway in 1903.
Oxenham Arms
Trip No.132 Entry No.8 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Oxenham Arms submitted by TheCaptain on 26th Apr 2004. Oxenham Arms, South Zeal, Devon SX651935.
An enormous and magnificent menhir built into the wall of a tremendous pub on the main street in the village of South Zeal, Devon.
In fact, the pub is believed to have been built by monks in the twelfth century around the menhir. As the pub website says "A very interesting part of the house is the small lounge behind the bar. In this room, set in the wall, is a monolith and the theory of archaeologists is that the monastic builders placed the...
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Oxenham Arms Menhir & Roman Stone: We originally headed off to the wrong pub, at the north western end of the village, but having thought the name of the pub wasn't what we remembered, we found the Oxenham Arms just down the hill from the village cross.
Walking into the pub from the bright sunshine of the street took my eyes some time to adjust, but we welcomed the coolness and the opportunity of a long, cold, icy drink.
I asked the barman if I could ask a cheeky question, and he said “on the scale of 1 to 10, how cheeky?” I replied “4”. He said “that’s not cheeky”. He very patiently told us where to find the standing stone, and also told us about the Roman pillar in the restaurant at the back. He very kindly said it was OK for me to take photos.
He also added (tongue in cheek?) that they thought it had taken 40 years to carve the granite standing stone, although how he knew, I don’t know. The stone apparently continues in one of the rooms upstairs.
Lovely atmosphere here. If we go back to Devon, I’d like to go for a meal here. A chance to see a couple of fine stones and have a drink at the same time - only the second time ever (the first being at the Templar Preceptory at Rothley).
There are several notices hanging on the wall and I’ve typed this up.
South Zeal Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.7 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
South Zeal Cross submitted by Anne T on 7th Jun 2019. The cross, as seen from the small communal garden next to the small but lovely Chapel of Ease, just to its south east. Historic England says: "(The cross) is an integral part of the South Zeal townscape. It is very special being one of the few medieval boroughs in Devon where a significant number of its late medieval houses survive to a greater or lesser extent".
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: South Zeal Cross: Driving the short distance from Moon’s Cross into South Zeal, this is a busy little working village, not just a place for tourists to travel to Oh the cars that were parked up and down the street, but we managed to find a space just south of the village cross.
This is a tall, imposing monument, standing just north east of the small, but quaint St Mary’s Chapel and a small, beautifully kept communal garden. As we drove south east down the main road through the village (towards the Oxenham Arms) the cross dominated the village; standing further south east, as the village is on a hill, the cross towered above us.
Whilst visiting the cross, it's worth popping into the tiny, but welcoming St Mary's Chapel next door. Now turned into a place of rest and contemplation for modern day pilgrims.
Sticklepath Methodist Chapel Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.9 Date Added: 8th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Sticklepath Methodist Chapel Cross submitted by Anne T on 8th Jun 2019. This cross-in-miniature is high up above the road, acting as a finial on the northern side of the Methodist Chapel. Pastscape says it was reused here in approximately 1816 (when the chapel was built). Photo taken from the south eastern side of the chapel 'garden', which is the only place we could get a decent view of the cross.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Sticklepath Methodist Chapel Cross: A very small cross with socket stone being used as a coping stone on the apex of the roof of the Methodist Chapel.
To see the cross better, we let ourselves into the small ‘garden’ of the chapel (being used as a dump for building materials and rubble), and took a bit of a blurred photo. It does seem like a wayside cross in complete miniature, but instinct tells me it’s just a fancy roof finial which has been reused from another site/location.
Worth stopping off to see, especially with the Lady Well and the Sticklepath pre-Conquest boundary stone just west of the chapel.
Lady Well (Sticklepath)
Trip No.132 Entry No.10 Date Added: 8th Jun 2019
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 5
Lady Well (Sticklepath) submitted by KiwiBetsy on 29th Aug 2006. The Lady Well invites visitors to 'Drink and be thankful.'
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Lady Well, Sticklepath: This well is right beside the road. The grid reference given by Pastscape must be the original site of the well, as it actually is at SX 63904 94124.
The ambience of the well was dreadful at the time of our visit, as it sat immediately next to a set of roadworks, and also in deep shade at the time of our visit. Pleased to have seen it, and ticked it off our list, but that’s about all.
The boundary marker is nearby, just up hill, literally on the other side of the road junction.
Sticklepath Boundary Marker
Trip No.132 Entry No.11 Date Added: 8th Jun 2019
Site Type: Marker Stone
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Sticklepath Boundary Marker submitted by Anne T on 8th Jun 2019. The southern face of the cross, which had a cross carved in relief upon it. We were unable to make out any carvings at the time of our visit.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Sticklepath Inscribed Boundary Stone: This stone is only within 20m of Lady Well, separated by a minor road junction. At the time of our visit, the ambience was spoilt by roadworks which had been set up next to, and almost up to it.
With the stone sitting on top of a retaining wall between the pavement and the main road running through Sticklepath, and a footpath running up slope to its WSW side, Andrew stepped onto the bank and photographed all sides of it for me at close quarters.
Despite peering closely at each side of the stone, we were unable to make out any clear carvings on it at all. The only thing that was clear was the hole for the ball finial which topped the stone at some time in its past.
Belstone Boundary Marker
Trip No.132 Entry No.12 Date Added: 9th Jun 2019
Site Type: Marker Stone
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Belstone Boundary Marker submitted by Anne T on 9th Jun 2019. Having parked down the narrow lane just to the west of this boundary stone, this was my first view of it as I approached the road junction.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Belstone Boundary Marker: Only 1km from the Sticklepath Boundary Stone, this supposedly pre-Conquest stone at the junction of the B3260 and a minor dead-end road which goes north east to a farm.
I got some strange stares from the cars as I photographed this stone, which is no longer on the parish boundary, presumably to accommodate road improvements. Had it not been for the busy road, this would have been in a gloriously peaceful countryside location, with lovely views northwards (the hedge to the south was too tall to see over).
I think the description in the Pastscape entry has been confused with the Sticklepath BS, near Lady Well, as this stone is triangular in shape and the only marking we could see was a partial bench mark on its front.
The acute angle of the minor road junction with the B3260 made the turn right out of the busy road a little tricky, but possible after waiting for a sufficiently large gap in the traffic.
Belstone Ring Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.13 Date Added: 9th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Belstone Ring Cross submitted by hoya105 on 23rd May 2019. Inside St Marys Church, in the lovely village of Belstone with its Holy Well and great pub!
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Ring headed cross at St Mary The Virgin, Belstone: A lovely little village, with not only the ring headed cross in the church but the Coronation Stone and the old stocks on the village green.
The church has a lovely atmosphere, tucked away to the west of the little village shop cum pub. The church had a slim guide book which made interesting reading, and I went through it during our visit to make sure we didn’t miss anything special.
The ring-headed cross is against the south wall of the church, near where the nave and sanctuary join. It’s base had been covered with an Easter scene.
We wandered back to the village green and had tea and cake in the Old Schoolroom Tearooms. This was to be my first experience of “toilet twinning” – there were photos of toilets in other countries that the tearoom toilet had been twinned with – brilliant!)
Holy Well (Belstone)
Trip No.132 Entry No.14 Date Added: 9th Jun 2019
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Holy Well (Belstone) submitted by KiwiBetsy on 29th Aug 2006. This is a curative spring located near St Mary’s Church. The spring is protected by several large granite rocks.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: Belstone Spring Head: From the village green, we decided to walk to the well, following the lane past the church and turning right (ESE) onto the common ground/moorland.
Located almost immediately opposite a large pub, and just down slope, this was a lovely location which attracted families and dog walkers.
No water flowing at the time of our visit (the well chamber/basin was just muddy with nettles and ferns growing in it) but there were pools of water bubbling from the ground around it. Some of the ground was fairly boggy, but I managed to get close enough to look in the well chamber.
West Wyke Farm Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.15 Date Added: 9th Oct 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
West Wyke Farm Cross submitted by Anne T on 9th Jun 2019. This cross sits just to the west of the entrance to farm buildings on the northern side of the track. It stands about 18 inches / 45 cms high.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: West Wyke Farm Cross: This cross is not recorded on Pastscape or Historic England, so we didn't expect to see it here. It looks relatively modern, like a small rounded-headed grave marker such as we saw in St Mary's in Belstone. It sits quietly by the entrance to the farm buildings, north of the track and West Wyke farmhouse.
Note: the track up to the farm and houses here is marked private road. We parked at the viewpoint at SX 65298 93020 and walked up the lane.
West Wykes Farm Tau and Latin Crosses
Trip No.132 Entry No.16 Date Added: 9th Oct 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4
West Wykes Farm Tau and Latin Crosses submitted by Anne T on 9th Jun 2019. The Latin cross under the tree at West Wyke farm, having been rescued from 'duty as a gatepost' by E. Masson Phillips in 1958 and erected here. The cross has lost one of its arms, and on each face there is are incised Latin crosses. One, carved somewhat lopsidedly is 1 foot 7 inches high by 1 foot 2 inches. On the reverse face the cross measures 11 inches high by 11 inches across. Just to the right of the tree (just above centre right of the photo) can be see the octagonal arm of the Tau cross.
(View photo, vote or add a comment)
Log Text: West Wyke Tau and Latin Crosses: The lane to West Wyke farm and the houses here is marked private, so we parked at the viewpoint at SX 65298 93020 and walked the 600m or so up the lane - a very pleasant walk in the evening sunshine.
Despite taking the HE and Pastcape printouts with us, I didn't appreciate what I'd seen until sitting at the computer today (9th June 2019). Good job I photographed the pile of stones at the western side of the tree, as this was the Tau Cross! The smaller cross next to the entrance to the barns on the opposite side of the road is not recorded on HE or Pastscape, and I'd been really confused until re-reading the entries.