Record Details
| NHER Number: | 8578 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Site of a medieval cross or boundary marker |
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Summary
This is the site of a large unworked stone which had other stones sunk into the ground around it. It may have been a medieval cross or boundary marker.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 4986 1733 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG41NE |
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| Parish: | HEMSBY, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Site of possible cross or boundary marker.
Described by Rev. W. Gibson in (S1) as "…a stone of considerable size, having close about it the appearance of other stones being sunk into the ground, and overgrown with weeds and grass, placed there seemingly, in a period now beyond the reach of tradition, with some particular design, but bearing no discernible marks of the tool, or of having made a part of either cross or pillar". It is suggested that this and three other crosses in the parish may have functioned as sanctuary markers. Cozens-Hardy in (S2) is however sceptical of this theory, which he regarded as "…unsupported by any documentary evidence".
Information from (S3) and (S4).
The site of the stone is marked at this location on the late 19th-century 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map but it is unclear when it was last observed (it was clearly gone by this time). It is possible that this information was taken from the description and crude plan in (S1). Writing in 1899 Bryant notes that this particular stone "…though visible a few years ago [was] now obliterated…" (S5). It is clear from (S2) that Cozens-Hardy was not been able to locate this stone during the 1930s.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 August 2020.
Monument Types
- BOUNDARY MARKER (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- CROSS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1963. Hemsby's Cross: a relic of Saxon piety. 8 April. |
| <S1> | Article in Serial: Gibbon, W. 1803. Observations on the remains of a stone cross or pillar at Hemsby. Archaeologia. Vol XIV pp 40-54. pp 45-46. |
| <S2> | Article in Serial: Cozens-Hardy B. 1934. Norfolk Crosses. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXV Pt II pp 297-336. p 313. |
| <S3> | Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 41 NE 8. |
| <S4> | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| <S5> | Monograph: Bryant, T. H. 1899. Hundreds of East and West Flegg. The Churches of Norfolk. Vol IV. p 77. |
Related records - none
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