In the churchyard close to the south porch of the church

Found in 1919 buried beneath the steps of a later medieval churchyard cross after the late rector of Brailsford left instructions to be buried under the base of the cross. By 1923, the shaft was in its present position (Collingwood 1923, 1–3) seemingly reusing the later-medieval base.

All Saints

In reasonable condition but suffering from erosion with exposure to adverse weather and the seasonal growth of moss. All faces appear to be equally worn although B may be in slightly better condition. There is some damage to the edge mouldings of the upper section.

This is a round-sectioned shaft with a rectangular-sectioned upper portion extending from a double collar moulding (type h: Cramp 1991, fig. 1). The round lower section is slightly ovoid, producing a rectangular-sectioned upper shaft with two broad faces (A and C) and two narrower faces (B and D). The collars and edge mouldings of the upper section are of cable design. The top of the shaft is missing.

A(broad): On the upper part of the round-section is a figure with a slightly triangular face, with chiselled eyes and mouth and what appear to be eyebrows (Ill. 126). The shoulders form a V-shape under the chin. Upraised in the left hand is a circular object which can be identified a shield with a small central boss. The right arm terminates in a wedge-shaped hand resting on the hilt of a large sword lying across the body, which may be understood to be contained in a scabbard. The figure wears a short tunic, the upper part of which is formed from plait-work. The figure’s feet are turned to the right. To the left of the figure is a small panel of plait-work contained within a flat and irregular moulding set at an angle following that of the right arm and terminating at the hemline of the tunic. To the right of the figure is a curved strand extending from D. Between this and the left arm are a series of small pellets. The rectangular-section of the shaft is decorated with an incomplete four-strand interlace pattern that terminates at the base in two V-shaped terminals joining the strands of interlace together.

B (narrow): The lower round-section of the shaft is decorated with moulded strands forming an asymmetric pattern. On the left is a curved strand terminating in spirals at the bottom and top. To the centre and right are two irregular strands joined to the spiral design and extending to C to the right. All are surrounded by small pellets which fill the pattern. Above the collar the rectangular-section is filled with the remains of a regular, single-strand, meander pattern that terminates at the bottom in a curled loop.

C (broad): This face is again decorated on the lower round-section by a three- or four- stranded irregular interlace pattern with no symmetry. The strands meander across the face from B in a distinctly ‘freehand’ style and are surrounded by numerous small pellets set between the strands as fillers. Above, in the rectangular-section, is a floral design composed of two stylised triple leaf patterns extending from vertical stems on either side of the panel. These end at the bottom of the panel in a bar terminal that joins them together.

D (narrow): Again decorated on the lower round-section by irregular curving strands which can be described as an ‘exploded scroll’ pattern. To the left, and surrounded by numerous small pellets that fill the pattern, are moulded strands which extend from C, one of which turns back to enclose the pellets on that face. Another strand extends from the latter to join with a spiral, itself the termination of a strand which joins with the figure on A, to the right. Above this latter spiral is a free-standing double spiral-scroll design. Above the double cable moulding, which is badly worn on this face, the rectangular-section contains a three-strand interlace pattern that terminates at the base in V-shaped terminals; the upper part is missing.

The undecorated portion at the base of the round-shaft is likely original, but the possibility that the stone was dressed-off at some later date cannot be discounted. The monument almost certainly once featured a cross-head surmounting the shaft, like those more complete examples of this monument type surviving elsewhere (at Ilam (2) for instance). Although round-shafted crosses are found in many areas of England, there are a considerable number of smaller versions with similar dimensions clustered locally and to the east (Bailey 2010, 33-7). The bulk of these are concentrated around the border area between north-western Derbyshire, north-eastern Staffordshire and south-eastern Cheshire. This example is a south-easterly outlier to this group (Sidebottom 1994, distribution map 9).

Collingwood (1927, 5–9) suggested that the round-shafted crosses were modelled on earlier wooden versions–‘staff roods’–and, like Pape after him (1945–6), seemed to regard them as a class of monument separate from the more familiar rectangular cross-shafts. However, the design elements of many round-shafted crosses are shared by their rectangular-shaft counterparts (Sidebottom 1994). Stoke-on-Trent (1), for example, has the same array of linear patterns, pellets, irregular interlace and triple leaf motifs, but is rectangular in section (see also Bakewell (2, 3 and 4) and Two Dales (1) in Derbyshire, and Ilam (2), Leek (6) and Alstonefield (7) in Staffordshire). The shape of the cross-shaft may thus not have been significant, the choice between a round shaft and a rectangular shaft being simply pragmatic. It is feasible that many of smaller round-shafted crosses may have been fashioned from reused Roman milestones, where the dimensions of many tend to be similar to the round shafts used to create these forms. The tapered appearance of the Anglo-Saxon monuments would thus represent the result of cutting away the original stone, with the lower (plain) part of the shaft representing the original surface of the Roman milestone.

The warrior figure set on the lower portion of the shaft is a somewhat unusual feature in the decorative repertoire of the round-shafted crosses, however (Ills. 126, 128). Setting aside questions of the relative ability of the carver (or the aspirations of the patron), the prominent sword and the small raised shield suggest that it was intended to represent a member of the Anglo-Scandinavian warrior elite, who could be either the patron or one commemorated, implying that the monument may have functioned as a memorial stone or marker.

Tenth century

Collingwood 1923a, 1–5, fig. on 3; Collingwood 1927, 8, 107, 163, fig. 14.12; Tudor 1927, 46; Routh 1937a, 20–1, pl. IX b; Routh 1937b, 23–4, pl. IX b; Kendrick 1941, 12, pls. Vb, VIb; Jeavons 1945–6, 120; Pape 1945–6, 41–2; Kendrick 1949, 70–1, 78, pl. XLVI; Rix 1960, 78; Radford 1961a, 210; Whitaker 1974, 87; Pevsner and Williamson 1978, 105; Plunkett 1984, 145–9, 165, 284, 292, 357, fig. 30d, pl. 50; Craven and Stanley 1986, 11, 27; Bailey 1990, 4; Leonard 1993, 17, 52; Sidebottom 1994, 109, 116, 137, 149, 231 (Brailsford); Leonard 1995, 12; Bailey 1996, 84–5; Sidebottom 2000, 228; Sharpe 2002, 98; Cramp 2006a, 127; Bailey 2010, 25, 36, 126; Everson and Stocker 2015, 193