Maen Achwyfan Cross, near the village of Whitford,

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, Wales, is a

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. Standing high, it is the tallest wheel cross in Britain, and a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History and description

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

translates Maen Achwyfan as "the stone of

aint The word "ain't" is a contraction for ''am not'', ''is not'', ''are not'', ''has not'', ''have not'' in the common English language vernacular. In some dialects ''ain't'' is also used as a contraction of ''do not'', ''does not'' and ''did not''. ...

Cwyfan" and dates the cross to the early

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

or Medieval periods.

Edward Hubbard Edward Horton Hubbard (2 July 1937 – 31 May 1989) was an English architectural historian who worked with Nikolaus Pevsner in compiling volumes of the ''Buildings of England''. He also wrote the definitive biography of John Douglas, and played ...

, in his ''Clwyd''

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, dan ...

, suggests a build date of the late 10th or early 11th century. It stands 3.4 m high and is carved from a single block of stone. Its height makes it the "tallest wheel cross in Britain". Its wheel cross head has bosses on both sides. The shaft is decorated with

knotwork A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

and with images of men and animals. Hubbard recorded in 2003 that the figurative images were "now barely discernible". Cadw notes the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

influence on the design, the cross being carved at a time when Viking raids were common along the North Wales coastline. The cross stands in a field to the north of the village of Whitford. It is a

References

Sources

External links

Coflein site with images of the cross

Articles on the cross by Prof. Howard Williams – The Offa's Dyke Collaboratory
{{Commons category, Maen Achwyfan Scheduled monuments in Flintshire Celtic crosses High crosses Monumental crosses in the United Kingdom Cadw