The Sandbach Crosses are two 9th-century stone Anglo-Saxon crosses now erected in the market place in the town of Sandbach,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England. They are unusually large and elaborate examples of the type and are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, 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

The most recent and authoritative dating places the larger cross from the early part of the 9th century, and the smaller from about the middle of that century. Older theories, now outdated, included the view that they were erected to commemorate the conversion to Christianity of

Peada of Mercia Peada (died 656), a son of Penda, was briefly King of southern Mercia after his father's death in November 655The year could be pushed back to 654 if a revised interpretation of Bede's dates is used. and until his own death in the spring of the n ...

about 653. Other sources date them to the 9th century. The original site of the crosses is unknown and it is believed that they were brought to Sandbach in the

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The earliest documentary evidence is by William Smith, the Rouge-Dragon Pursuivant at Arms of Elizabeth I, who was from Nantwich. In 1585 he wrote 'two square crosses of stone, on steps, with certain images and writings thereon graven tanding/nowiki> hard together. Either after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

or during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

they were thrown down and their parts were scattered over a wide area. Larger pieces of the crosses were found as far away as

Oulton Oulton may refer to: Places *Oulton, Cumbria, England *Oulton, Norfolk, England *Oulton, Norbury, in Norbury, Staffordshire, Norbury, Staffordshire, England *Oulton, Stone Rural, Staffordshire, England *Oulton, Suffolk, England *Oulton, West Yorks ...

and Tarporley while smaller pieces were found on various sites in Sandbach. In the early 19th century they were collected together and in 1816 were reassembled and erected under the direction of George Ormerod, the Cheshire historian. The crosses now consist of two upright columns set in sockets on a base of three stepped stones. The northern cross is the taller and has a mutilated head. The southern cross is truncated and has a mutilated head from a different cross. The crosses have always been a pair and were carved by the same hand. They depict religious scenes, doll-like heads and beasts in panels, together with vine-scrolls, course interlace patterns and some dragons.

In art

One of the Crosses (before restoration in 1816) appears in a watercolour by William Alexander, from which they were engraved by John Byrne and published in ''

Britannia Depicta ''Britannia Depicta'' was an illustrated road atlas for Britain. It was printed in numerous editions over many decades from 1720 into the 19th century and updated with engravings by many artisans who worked from drawings of other artists. It feat ...

, Part III, Buckinghamshire and Cheshire'' (1810). Examples were sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

on 22 February 1977, and now appear in the UK's Government Art Collection. Prints and engravings are also found at the Cheshire Records Office.

In music

In 2011,

Foden's Band Foden's Band (originally Foden's Motor Works Band, and variants with sponsors' names) is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach. Foden's Band are one of the top br ...

commissioned their Composer in Residence, Andy Scott, to write a piece for brass band called ''To the Ancient Crosses'', "a vigorous and rhythmic description of the Saxon stone carved crosses in Sandbach market square", and dedicated to Sandbach Town Council for their support of the band.

References

External links

Sandbach Crosses
English Heritage {{High cross Anglo-Saxon art English Heritage sites in Cheshire Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire High crosses in England Sandbach Scheduled monuments in Cheshire Monumental crosses in England Stone crosses in the United Kingdom

History

In art

In music

See also

References

External links