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Irton Cross is an
The Cast Court Collection.
/ref>
Irton Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman ...
in the graveyard of St Paul's Church, in the parish of Irton with Santon
Irton with Santon is a civil parish in Copeland (borough), Copeland, Cumbria, England, which includes the village of Santon Bridge. It has a Parish councils in England, parish council. It had a population of 373 in 2001, decreasing to 316 at the ...
, Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, England. Dating from the early 9th century, it lies chronologically between the Bewcastle Cross
The Bewcastle Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross which is still in its original position within the churchyard of St Cuthbert's church at Bewcastle, in the England, English county of Cumbria. The cross, which probably dates from the 7th or early 8th ...
and the Gosforth cross
The Gosforth Cross is a large stone monument in St Mary's churchyard at Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria, dating to the first half of the 10th century AD. Formerly part of the kingdom of Northumbria, the area was settled by Scandinavia ...
and has greater affinity with the earlier Anglo-Roman style of Bewcastle.
Description
The west face has two panels of interlace, between which is a panel which once contained three lines of runes, all of which is surrounded by a border of knotwork. The east face also has two panels with a diagonal key pattern, and two with chequers, which are in fact small sunken crosses. There is fine scroll work on the narrow north and south sides, with leaves stem and fruit, possibly indicating a vine.Access
The graveyard is open to the public and the cross can be examined at any time. It is to the south of the church. A replica of the cross can also be seen at theVictoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
in London. The cast was made in 1882, and along with one of the Gosforth cross, it can be seen in the cast hall of the museum./ref>
References
*The Gosforth District - C A Parker, 1904. {{coord, 54.39144, -3.40052, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Anglo-Saxon art High crosses in England History of Cumberland History of Cumbria Monumental crosses in England