In the churchyard to the south-east of the church

First mentioned by Plot (1686, 433), Leek 6 is described by Sleigh (1862, 78) as standing in its present location. It does not appear to have been previously reused as building material and so may have been in its present location for some considerable time. Sleigh (1862, 80) records that the steps of the pedestal were 'much worn by the knees of pilgrims and devotees resorting hither', seemingly reinforcing this supposition.

St Edward the Confessor

Nearly complete, with only the top of the cross-head broken off; the decoration is weathered but visible on all faces.

This round-shaft cross (type g/h: Cramp 1991, fig. 1) has a cylindrical tapering shaft terminating at the top in a wide collar. Above this is the rectangular-sectioned upper portion, decorated on each face, the carving contained in a U-shaped panel framed by rolled edge mouldings. A small central boss survives on the broken cross-head.

A (broad): This face is decorated below the collar with a simple design comprising a heart-shaped motif with two opposed volutes at the top and a pellet below, surrounded by a strand arranged in an inverted horseshoe shape with small out-turned volutes at the bottom of each end. The collar itself is decorated with a horizontal, four-strand, simple interlace with thin mouldings top and bottom. Above, is a panel containing a squared plant-scroll pattern, terminating in a cluster of five berries in the centre of each volute. The vertical strands of the pattern are squared to fit the panel and occasionally join to the panel moulding to give an organic appearance to the scroll. At the top is a small boss that formed the centre of a cross-head.

B (narrow): This face is decorated below the collar with a motif similar to that on A, although here, the heart-shaped motif is replaced by a trefoil design. The collar continues the decorative motif of A. Above, the panel is decorated with an irregular interlace formed from two strands, with a simple pattern F loop at the bottom and a simple pattern E loop at the top, with a closed-circuit pattern F loop in the middle (Cramp 1991, figs. 23, 24). At the top are the broken remains of a cross-head with a curved arm-pit visible below.

C (broad): This face is decorated below the collar with the worn remains of a cross motif, shown by Browne (1889) as an equal-arm cross with curved terminals, and with a Latin crosslet in the centre. The collar continues the decoration of A and B. Above, the panel is filled with an interlace pattern formed from one sinuous strand which turns on itself to form a series of Stafford Knots (simple pattern E: ibid., fig. 23). It terminates at the bottom in a closed loop. At the top is a small boss that formed the centre of the cross-head.

D (narrow): This face is decorated below the collar with a motif similar to that on B, while the decoration of the collar continues that of A, B and C. Above, the upper rectangular section is filled with a panel of line or key pattern (meander 2: ibid., fig. 27). At the top are the broken remains of a cross-head with a curved arm-pit below.

This is a tall example of a round-shaft cross which, like others in the region, may have been carved from an existing stone column, where a taper has been introduced to facilitate a rectangular section at the top and so that patterns could be carved on the upper portion of the lower cylindrical part of the shaft. The decoration is similar to that found on other round-shaft crosses in the region. For example, the upper sections of round-shafts at Alstonefield (7, 8, 9 and 10) also include the line or key pattern and simple interlaces, while the squared plant-scroll design on A is similar to that on Stoke-on-Trent (1) and Brailsford (1), Derbyshire (Ills. 605, 130), the latter also using a line/key pattern and simple interlace on other faces.

Tenth century

Plot 1686, 432–3; Cox 1730, 95; Pegge 1779, 97; 'Aristides' 1780, 165, fig. 1; Camden 1806, ii, 515; Dugdale 1819, iv, 261; Erdeswick 1820, 102, 367; Sleigh 1862, 78–80, fig. following 78; (—) 1873, 319–21; Daltry 1874, 6; Lynam 1875, 23–4; Lynam 1877a, pls. between 432–3, 436–7; Lynam 1881, 90; Sleigh 1883, 84–8, pl. XIV; (—) 1885a, 387; Allen and Browne 1885, 356; Browne 1885a, 257; Browne 1885–6, 126–7; Browne 1886, 179; Browne 1887b, 150; Browne 1888a, 6; (—) 1888–9, 48–9; Allen 1889, 227; Browne 1889, III/IV, fig. 3; (—) 1893, 144; Lynam 1895a, 146; Lynam 1895b, 156–7; Lynam 1895–7, 292; (—) 1898–9b, 144; Wrottesley 1901–2, 134; Andrew 1905, 203; Le Blanc Smith 1906, 237–43, figs. 5–6; Lynam 1907–8, 100; Scrivener 1907–8, 170; (—) 1914–15, 204–5; Lynam 1917–18, 148; Stobbs and Huntbach 1919–20, 118; (—) 1920–1, 117; Collingwood 1923a, 9; Collingwood 1927, 8; Clapham 1930, 134 n.2; Pape 1930–1, 144; (—) 1937, 312; Brown 1937, 271; (—) 1940–1, 33; Kendrick 1941, 11–12, pl. Va; Jeavons 1945–6, 119–20, fig. 1, pl. XXV.1; Pape 1945–6, 25–6, 33–5, 47–8, pl. III; Pape 1946–7, 25, 38, 46–9; Steele 1947–8a, 118–19, pls. XII.1, XIV.1–2, XV; Steele 1947–8b, 173; Kendrick 1949, 70, pl. XLVI; Rix 1960, 75, 78, 81; Fisher 1968, 67; Pevsner 1974, 169; Pevsner and Williamson 1978, 105; Plunkett 1984, 145–9, 301, 285, fig. 30c; Bailey and Cramp 1988, 30; Sidebottom 1994, 116, 148, 257 (Leek 6); Greenslade 1996c, 137, pl. 4; Leonard 1995, 12, 71, 76; Sidebottom 1999, 212; Sharpe 2002, 99–100; Coatsworth 2008, 110; Bailey 2010, 34, 36, 47, 61, 75, 79, 84, 99, 127; Horovitz 2010, 324; Edwards 2013, 383; Everson and Stocker 2015, 193, 194