West end of church, inside, beside pier of north arcade

Found in churchyard and taken into vicarage garden by Reverend S. Isaacson; first recorded by W. J. Milburn in 1908 (Collingwood 1911a, 263)

St Elgin

Upper arm and most of shaft missing; rather weathered

Cross-head, type A11, with ring, type 1(a), which is decorated only on faces A and C. The ring is recessed from the cross-face and inset considerably from the ends of the arms to enclose the pierced arm-pits. The neck of the shaft also survives. The shaft and cross-head are edged by a flat-band moulding with bevelled corners.

A (broad): In the centre of the cross is a prominent domed boss, protruding several centimetres from the face. A similar boss erupts from each arm, in line with the arc of the ring. All the bosses are now much worn, yet it is clear that they were 'brambled', having a central pellet surrounded by a cluster or ring of similar pellets.

The decoration of the shaft runs uninterruptedly into the cross-head and consists of a beast-chain with linking fetters. Below the lowest boss is the hind leg of a profile beast extending upwards at one side; on the other, the fetter bands split to form a triangle. Above the boss of the lower arm is a perching profile bird with wedge-shaped tail and pointed wing, under which a fetter passes to form the interlace of the lateral arms, where the strand is more obviously median-incised. The interlace terminals are difficult to decipher in the lateral arms, since the bosses are superimposed upon them, though there does seem to be a split strand and a pointed loose end in the left-hand arm.

The face of the ring has a neatly bevelled plain edge moulding containing a meander pattern.

B (narrow): The ring of the cross-head enters the interlace pattern, which consists of a U-shaped strand hooking the ring and, below that, and linked with it, a pattern of uncertain type, using median-incised strands of humped section. The pattern is closely knit. The flat end of the arm end has a narrower edge moulding and contains the worn remains of an unidentifiable interlace motif.

C (broad): This face has only one boss, placed centrally and standing proud. It is domed and is surrounded by nine contoured globular pellets joined by a lateral strand. The central boss is also joined to the encircling pellets by small strands. The lateral arms contain worn interlace of uncertain type, perhaps a form of plain plait.

The lower cross-arm, which continues down as the top of the sharply tapering shaft, contains a beast-chain, two interlocked profile beasts facing in contrary directions up and down the monument. The upward facing beast has a contoured outline, its head, fore leg, and neck surviving. Its small rounded ear is gouged and the upper jaw, slightly longer than the lower, has a folded extension. Its small fore foot has three toes. From its mouth issues a median-incised strand which enlaces the hind-leg of the second beast. The second animal's rump, hind leg, and tail survive: it too is contoured in outline. The extension of the tail is median-incised and is taken into the lateral arms to form the interlace.

The face of the ring is decorated with three-strand plain plait.

D (narrow): The end of the horizontal arm contains a small squarish panel of median-incised interlace, forming a Stafford Knot at the top, with what may be the remains of a bar terminal below.

The ring enters the interlace panel obtrusively, penetrating the median-incised, humped strands. The pattern is rather worn, but consists of a U-shaped strand hooked round the ring, with the beginnings of a four-cord pattern below.

This is the most decorative and stylish cross-head in the East Riding. Its ring-head dates it to the Anglo-Scandinavian period, post c. 920, when the type was introduced from the western colonies. The Jellinge style interlocked animals also recommend this dating and should be compared with those of the York Minster shafts, for example, no. 2 (Ills. 12–13); both in details and layout, they are very closely related. The dense, closely knit animal and interlace designs, and the horror vacui, are to be found in the York sculpture as well as many pieces in the North Riding.

This cross, however, possesses distinctive features. The prominent bosses are very unusual in tenth-century Yorkshire cross-heads, especially their presence on the arms. The brambling and the brooch-like appearance of face C's boss suggest a metalwork model, and we know from Lastingham that Anglian crosses had metalwork appendages. It is more likely, however, that these domed bosses have their origin in Irish high crosses, where the tradition began early, for example, at Ahenny, co. Tipperary, and where it continued throughout the ninth century into examples like those at Clonmacnoise, co. Offaly, and Monasterboice, co. Louth. The ring of the cross differs from the Ryedale type, found in the Middleton workshops, in not having a crest. The absence of panel divisions between the shaft and the cross-head is also distinctive, its nearest parallel being the cross in the tower of Hovingham church (Hovingham 2; Ill. 485) and, more crudely, on Lowthorpe 1 (Ill. 666).

The cross is carved from Millstone Grit, a stone which does not occur geologically in this part of Yorkshire, so it is most likely that it was imported from a workshop in the west, probably York itself, to judge from the animal ornament and from the liking for Millstone Grit monuments in the city. Recently a close parallel for this cross-head was extracted from the tower of St Mary Bishophill Junior in York (no. 3; Ills. 228–31), reaffirming the links with the city. Indeed, this York piece may be by the same hand.

Tenth century

(—) 1908; Hodges 1909; Collingwood 1911a, 263–5, figs. a–d on 263; Collingwood 1912a, 131; Collingwood 1926, 324, 327; Collingwood 1927, 134, fig. 151; Elgee 1933, 216, 239; Mee 1941b, 202; Binns 1963, pl. facing 14; Pevsner 1972, 319; Bailey 1980, 239; Lang 1989, 1, 3, 5, pl. IIe