![Bewys Cross in its present location at Kingsweston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Bewys_Cross_in_its_present_location_at_Kingsweston.jpg)
Bewys Cross (or Bewy's Cross) is a monument consisting of the steps,
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...
and truncated shaft said to be of an ancient cross of uncertain age which used to stand on the ancient seabank or seawall of the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
in that area of
Shirehampton
Shirehampton is a district of Bristol in England, near Avonmouth, at the northwestern edge of the city.
It originated as a separate village, retains a High Street with a parish church and shops, and is still thought of as a village by many of it ...
in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, now known as
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...
. The cross is perhaps early fifteenth century; the steps may be more recent.
The site is marked as "Bevis's Cross" on a map of 1769 and as "Bevis Stone" on one of 1772, close to where the
River Avon used to flow into the Severn, about halfway between the sites of the later Avonmouth and Marine Hotels (which have both since been demolished). Its position is now in the middle of the Royal Edward Dock, Avonmouth. Since the 1870s, the Avon has flowed into the Severn about half a mile further south.
Purpose
The purpose of the cross seems most likely to have been to mark the old mouth of the Avon, the access to the port of
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, for the benefit of sailors approaching from the south and turning upriver north of the now vanished
Dumball Island. Local tradition has it that sailors used it to show their gratitude to God for their safe return by leaving donations for the Church, and there is a hole in one of the steps which is said to have received their coins.
The origin of the name is uncertain. There is a
Bevis Cross in
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, which may be relevant because of the similar name. There may be an echo in both cross-names of the medieval legendary hero
Sir Bevis of Hampton
Bevis of Hampton ( fro, Beuve(s) or or ; Anglo-Norman: ; it, Buovo d'Antona) or Sir Bevois, was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, Dutch, French, English, Venetian,Hasenohr, 173–4. and other medieval metrical chivalr ...
, and it may or may not be a coincidence that the site of Bewys Cross was in the tithing of
Shirehampton
Shirehampton is a district of Bristol in England, near Avonmouth, at the northwestern edge of the city.
It originated as a separate village, retains a High Street with a parish church and shops, and is still thought of as a village by many of it ...
, which was in early medieval times called simply ''Hampton''. There is a mention in 1551
Bristol Archives
Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...
document P.Hen/Ch/1/7 of a place called ''Bewehurste'' at Compton in the nearby parish of
Almondsbury, which is of uncertain relevance. The current name might result from confusion with
Bewell's Cross
Bewell's Cross is a lost monument which marked the boundary of the county of Bristol when this was created in 1373. The name goes back at least as far as 1188, however, when it is referred to in a charter of King John 'quandam crucem vocatam Bewe ...
in Bristol, or the Compton name.
Location
The local "squires", the Miles family, had the cross moved from the riverbank and re-erected in Kingsweston Lane, nearly opposite the entrance to their mansion,
King's Weston House
Kings Weston House () is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane, Kingsweston, Bristol, England.
History
It was built between 1712 and 1719 was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for Edward Southwell on the site of an earlier Tudor house, remod ...
, probably at some time between 1863 and 1868. They may have done this to safeguard it against the threat of development taking place on their estate land at Avonmouth. The most likely context is the construction in 1863–1865 of the
Bristol Port and Pier Railway, which terminated at the Avonmouth Hotel, just beyond the seabank. It was said in 1868 to be covered with ivy, but three years is quite enough time for that to happen. In 1952 or 1954, the subsequent owners of the Kingsweston estate,
Bristol City Council, moved the cross to the grounds of The House in the Garden, a nearby house which had been built in 1938 for the widow of the last squire. It still stands there by the fishpond.
References
*Bristol Record Office file P/Avon/X/4(a), dated 1937.
*Donn, Benjamin (1769) A Map of the Country Eleven Miles round the City of Bristol.
*Taylor, Isaac (1772) Plan of the King's Weston estate.
*Hunt, J.M. (1990) Notes on the old stone crosses of the county of Avon. ''Avon Past'' 15, 21-30, on pp. 24–26.
*
Kölbing, Eugen, ed. (1885–1894) ''The romance of Sir Beues of Hamtoun.'' London: published for the
Early English Text Society
The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...
by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.
*Pooley, Charles (1868) ''Notes on the old crosses of Gloucestershire.'' London: Longmans, Green, p. 59.
*Thomas, Ethel (1992) ''Down the 'Mouth. A history of Avonmouth'' (2nd edn). Privately published, pp. 15–16.
*Thomas, Ethel (1993) ''Shirehampton story'' (2nd edn). Privately published, pp. 23–25.
{{Authority control
Monuments and memorials in Bristol
Archaeological sites in Bristol
Avonmouth