Historic Crosses | Calumsblog

Introduction

I grew up in a small village known as Hurst Green in the countryside of the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. My home village developed from a hamlet after the manor house of Stonyhurst Hall was founded nearby in 1592 by Richard Shireburn, but there has been settlement here since long before that, with the remains of a Roman road just across the river, the name of the river Hodder being thought to have derived from an ancient Brythonic Celtic term, and a Bronze-Age tumulus being present down at Winckley. For the purposes of this piece, the area I'll consider as 'home' will be the three joint Civil Parishes which include the village of Hurst Green and nearby small settlements. These Civil Parishes are Aighton, Bailey, and Chaigley which cover most of Longridge Fell and the slopes down to the rivers on either side (excluding some of the western parts of the fell and valleys).

I've always been interested in the local history of the area, coming across old sheep dips, rifle ranges, attempted railway constructions, an old ghyll-scrambling training spot, old quarries, and much more on my explorations looking for wildlife. I had ample time to really get to know the local landscape back in 2020, when Covid led to College ending abruptly, and restricted travel, giving me not much to do but wander the countryside around my home. It was around this time that I started taking note of the variety of old crosses that were all uniquely constructed and scattered seemingly randomly around the landscape. Some of these I had known about previously, but the more I explored, the more I found, and I had to learn more.

Luckily I had lots of help in my research, especially from other locals and people from nearby such as John Bailey, who designed a walk that visited many of these crosses for St Augustine's High School Fell Walking Club, and from the old Collections at Stonyhurst College, where Joe Reed pointed me to the works of Fr. Luck who did some research on the crosses in the early 1900s for the Stonyhurst Magazine. I even got my Dad, an amazing artist, to do a series of sketches based on my photos of the nine crosses which remain in the area today.

Through this piece I will present the fifteen crosses that I know of within Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley, including some of their history and some information on their presence today (only nine are still complete with both pedestal and cross shaft, while others are left as just pedestals, or are missing altogether.

To start off, here is an edited extract from Fr. Luck in the Stonyhurst Magazine of April 1910:

‘Among the many antiquities to be found in the neighbourhood of Stonyhurst, not the least interesting are the old crosses and remains of crosses that stand by the wayside and in the fields within walking distance of the College.’

‘Mr. Henry Taylor in his monumental work on "The Ancient Crosses and Holy Wells of Lancashire" classifies the crosses of Lancashire as: preaching crosses, churchyard crosses, roadside or weeping crosses, market or proclamation crosses, boundary or meare stones, the cross at cross-roads, crosses at holy wells, sanctuary crosses, crosses as guide-posts, and memorial/murder crosses.’

‘The various reasons here enumerated for the existences of these crosses show the great love of the cross cherished in days of yore, and we find public marks of devotion being paid to some of these crosses long after the Reformers had proscribed the Faith that had called them into being. "A remarkable instance," Mr. Taylor says, "of the stubborn adhesion of the Lancashire folk to the old Faith".'

Cross-Gills Cross

This cross has also been known as Saddle Hill Cross and Croskell's Cross over the years.

‘Saddle-hill lies almost due south of the Cricket-field, and from it may be obtained a beautiful view of the valley of the Ribble.’ This is the small hill today recognised as being on your right as you walk down the footpath past Cross Gills Farm towards the Ribble. It can also be seen by walkers of the Tolkein Trail if they look up in this direction from near Jumbles. The name used by the Stonyhurst Magazine in the previous quote was apparently a name commonly given to the hill by Stonyhurst boys (Stonyhurst was an all-boys school/college at the time) but was not otherwise commonly used. This name supposedly derives from an old name for this hill, “Shales-hill”, in reference to the shale that can be found here in the form of breccia (a base rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grain matrix) I am not entirely sure if breccia is the best definition here but was given by the Stonyhurst magazine. The bedrock of Saddle-hill is a fine-grained mudstone with origins in a shallow Carboniferous sea (337-343 million years ago) and so is unlikely contain the larger fragments in this matrix. What breccia may be referring to in this context is the glaciofluvial superficial deposits to be found here atop the bedrock from around 2 million years ago in ice age conditions, with loose sediments in the soil here being coarse grained and having features suggestive of being deposited from glacial meltwater. This loose shale has made the hill an excellent place for gravel quarries, badger sets, well-drained wildflower meadows, and burrowing bee species through history. I would also like to add the suggestion that the hill could simply have been a saddle hill, by which I mean a hill with two peaks and a smoot dip in the middle (saddle-shaped), similar to Blencathra mountain in the Lake District - meaning Saddleback, as the hill does seem to have been like this in the past, with the western peak having been destroyed since then (1940s onwards) due to the large amount of quarrying there by Browns.

The Croskell name also comes from a local place name.

This area was named Chitterick in the 1733 local map drawn for Maria Shireburn, the Duchess of Norfolk. This name is still withheld by the Brook that flows just west of here from Fox Fall Wood to Raid Deep. The wood around Chitterick Brook can also be named either Chitterick Wood or Raid Deep Wood. A deed even earlier than this, from 1650, spells it as “Shitrigg”, and may, like saddle-hill, also be referring to the composition of the ridge, due to gravel that used to be dug out of pits around here, even recently (mentioned in the Lancashire Evening Post, Friday, November 16, 1956), with “chittins” being a locally common name for fine gravel according to the Stonyhurst magazine.

However, following this, the farm adjacent to the hill was inhabited by a family with the last name Croskell, which led to the name of the area changing. As for how it later became Cross Gills as it is known today, the theory proposed by the Stonyhurst Magazine is that, following the Croskell’s leaving the area, the reason for this name was not apparent except that there was a cross on the nearby hill which had been moved from a previous position nearer to the gill/ghyll, so the spelling changed to fit this clearer explanation for the name (like an etiological myth). This, of course, is just theory.

This Cross supposedly first stood at the side of an old road going roughly from the Eagle and Child Inn (now some houses in Hurst Green) to Cross Gills (then known as Shitterick farm), and eventually to Mitton via Winckley, which may be the same old route as the ‘Stony Way’ as will be mentioned later, regarding the Hurst Green Cross. ‘The cross stood upon the brow of a hill on the Hurst Green end of the lane, just overlooking an old bridge’. Locals at the time claimed this old road was Roman in origin, although the Stonyhurst writers state that this is unlikely as there was already a Roman road from Clitheroe to Ribchester on the south bank of the Ribble, and this Northern road is unusually crooked for a Roman road. Either way, this represents a road that pre-dates the lower Longridge road that has replaced it, but with a slightly different route. This was when the cross was supposedly near to where the old quarry/gravel pit just south of Cross Gills Farm is today, the hill having been destroyed from quarrying, and the old bridge mentioned may be the one now in the garden of Reed Deep house, or possibly further downstream where it has been replaced by the full dirt and stone ridge that has somehow been made, using leftovers from the quarry, cutting through Chitterick Brook’s valley with the brook being piped underneath, or possibly this ancient bridge is gone altogether.

The cross was later moved ‘to Saddle-hill (before quarrying even began) in order to be in a more conspicuous place’, possibly due to the construction of Lower Hodder Bridge in 1825 diverting usage away from the old route where the cross stood. In making this journey, the cross was broken for the first time such that the cross currently seen only contains the original pedestal/socket, with a newer shaft. The original cross pieces were claimed to be built into the wall of Seed’s farm, though it is unclear which farm this is in the modern day - Warren Farm was apparently tenanted by someone of the last name Seed at some point, which is now where The Warren mansion is. A new cross shaft was added as a replacement to the original but was broken and vandalised again at least once following the original damage due to the move. The Stonyhurst Magazine points out one occasion where ‘the cross was broken some years ago by some trippers, who were very sorry when they saw the damage they had done, and paid to have it repaired.’ The pervious example is possibly from 1899, but there has apparently been much vandalism of this cross in the past, and ‘not only has the cross itself disappeared, but crowbars must have been used in the attempt to overturn the shaft and pedestal.’ I also heard somewhere that there is an old wives’ tail whereby a previous tenant of Cross Gills somehow managed to dump it in the river, following which many of his cows died, so he promptly replaced it. The most recent cross has the date ‘1910’ written into it somewhere.

Following being moved to Saddle Hill, in 1833, the cross was blessed by a Bishop. This was done in marking the first occasion that the cross shaft was replaced here following the move, an event which occurred on the 28th of September, 1833. On this day, ‘a large crowd gathered, the village band attended uninvited and played sacred music, and many of the people were moved even to tears.’ It was Bishop Penswick who blessed this cross (he was born in Ashton-in-Makerfield in 1772, ordained in 1797, and was appointed Titular Bishop of Europus in 1824). Upon the Death of Bishop Smith, 1831, he also became the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District until he died in 1836.

Interestingly, ‘Fr. Norris then asks Fr. Grover in Rome to apply to the Holy Father [the Pope, I think Gregory XVI] for an indulgence for the cross, to which is replied ‘"I doubt not I shall be able to obtain some Indulgences for those who visit the Cross on Saddle Hill, but to what extent I cannot promise. I will do my best for you."’ This he did with success and writes on February 11th, 1834. “I have obtained a grant of 300 days’ Indulgence for anyone visiting your cross, and reciting five Pater, Aves and Glorias, once every day in the year, with a contrite heart, in memory of the Five Wounds and veneration of the Passion of our Lord, and on the anniversary of the erection seven years and as many quadragenas, for the intention of the Holy Father.”’

The cross is described as a ‘well-carved Gothic cross of fine sandstone, let into “a very roughly shaped base-stone.” The ‘socket of the present cross on Saddle Hill is of a different kind of stone to the rest, and it has quite an ancient appearance about it’. Upon inspection, the original pedestal is of the slightly pinkish felspathic rock with large variation in grain size that can be found from quarries around Hurst Green, suggesting a very local source of stone due to transport difficulties in ancient times, while the more modern shaft has less variation of grain size, and may have been transported from quarries on Longridge Fell, although this is speculative. Its original function likely falls as a cross for the ‘constant custom for all Catholic funeral parties to halt before any cross standing by the route, and to pray for the dead’. This was back when the old route to Mitton that this cross originally stood beside was the main route to Mitton Church, of 13th century origin, likely being the closest church for those in Aighton, Bailey, and Chaigley at the time.

Hurst Green Cross

Before Lower Longridge Road and Avenue Road were in place as they are now, there was an older road known as “Stony way” to the Stonyhurst magazine writers. Part of this route appears to have followed closely to today’s Shire Lane and The Dene. This old route ends up meeting Avenue Road at the top of the brow that Margaret Embery and Agnes Bland tell us is called Cabin Brow in their ‘What’s in a Name?’ article in Round the Green (https://www.hurst-green.co.uk/.../Round-the-Green-Autumn...). This older road gets to the top of the brow just a few metres north of the current Lower Longridge road.

Along the route of this road, three crosses are known, with a potential fourth being just a little west of the Punch Bowl and supposedly being of the same group, and a fifth possibly having been near Starling Bridge. The fourth is not described other than to say that it is along this route and was near Sherburn House, and the fifth is only mentioned in passing as no longer being present. Going east along the old road from here brings you just northeast of the Punch Bowl to Gorton Rake Cross, which was somewhere not far from the current Shire Lane between the Punch Bowl and the first house that you come to on the right. The name comes from Gorton Rake, also called Gorton Raike, which, with raike being similar to the word ‘brow’, refers to the small hill/slope that Shire lane goes up from the Punch Bowl. Further east still, and ‘about two [or three] hundred yards from the cross last mentioned, another cross stood’. This was Shire Lane Cross and was to the east of Gorton Rake, ‘on the north side of the lane near Waring’s farm’. Of these two crosses, neither remain intact, and they were not even present by 1914. Only one of them is marked on the OS map published in 1848 (Gorton Rake Cross), but there was still evidence of both of them by 1914: the pedestals/plinth stones. For Shire Lane Cross, the remaining plinth is described as ‘a large base stone set upon other stones, now level with the ground… in the garden on the right in the angle between Shire Lane and Old Lane’. This pedestal is still found here today in the garden in the angle between Shire Lane and Hill Lane (previously Old Lane), although it has been moved east by a few metres from its original position at the very corner of the garden as the previous owner did some work to raise the ground here. Due to this, it is unknown if the other stones it was set upon are still present. The plinth stone still has the clear socket where the shaft would have been placed, but today the only thing atop this pedestal is a variety of moss species. As for Gorton Rake Cross, Fr. Luck said ‘I noticed two bits of stone sticking out of the grass, and, with the help of a spade, unearthed a fine old base-stone, which had sunk level with the ground, and was almost completely covered with thick turf… It will be found opposite the gate beyond the old quarry’. Today there is a bench installed near this location, and the pedestal is supposedly buried in the field nearby.

The 5th cross when travelling east along this route is luckily still surviving and is known as the Hurst Green Cross. This is one of 6 crosses (the 6th being the original Croskell’s cross which has since been replaced and moved around, as described previously) and may be the only surviving original of these ancient monuments. The ancient Hurst Green Cross is weathered and time-worn, with a basic design: its head being worked into the shape of a trefoil rather than a full Latin cross, and the socket for the shaft being the top of a flight of three steps. Historic England marks it as grade II listed and claims that it is possibly a 19th century restoration. They describe the Cross as being ‘roughly punched with a head of trefoil shape.’ It is a short cross that originally lay in a field overlooking the open space of the Village Green (now the area containing both the Boer War and World War Memorial Crosses), just north of the Shireburn Arms. Fr. Luck writes that ‘This is a venerable old cross, still standing complete and receiving marks of devotion which have been paid from time immemorial. Every Catholic funeral that passes it stops, and the mourners pray for the repose of the soul of the dead.’ ‘Sorrowful sympathy has to struggle with a sense of glad triumph when one sees this act of devotion being exercised at the present day (back in the early 1900s). The persecutor has failed to wrench the faith utterly from the hearts of the people, just as the hand of the spoiler has left this venerable monument though its four companions have gone. Deeply Weather-worn and storm-beaten, it yet stands on its moss-grown steps’.

Of course, such ‘acts of devotion’ can no longer be exercised at this cross today, since the village of Hurst Green has continued to develop around the Hurst Green cross, and it now lies in a front garden behind and to the left of the Boer War Memorial Cross, hidden well by the hedges and bushes that give the residents some much needed privacy; its ancient steps serving well as places for garden ornaments to sit. It must also be noted that the Red Rose Collection of online scans of Edmundson Buck’s photos (1859-1941) places one of his photos at this location, but they have it wrong, as they have placed his photo of Winckley Cross here.

Before more churches, such as St Peter’s and St Joseph’s were constructed, the only Church of the Parishes of Aighton, Bailey, Chaigley, and Mitton, was the now ancient Mitton Church of 13th century origin. The six crosses along an ancient route previously mentioned, with only the Hurst Green cross surviving today, were wayside crosses probably marking a resting place for funeral processions having to make their way all the way to Mitton, as this was the most direct route coming down from the high road on the fells. The crosses were prayed at during these processions as ‘it has been a constant custom for all Catholic funeral parties to halt before any cross standing by the route, and to pray for the dead’, and the water collected on them was even considered to be holy water.

Winckley Cross

Winckley Cross is named after the area in Aighton that it once resided in. According to the Blackburn Hundred, Winckley was part of the Hospitallers' estate in Aighton and Bailey, which was treated as part of their manor of Stidd. This might refer to the Knights Hospitallers who had land at Stidd and the hospital of St. Saviour at Stidd, which can be traced back to the reign of John, who granted this land to the Knights Hospitallers, which also became associated with their preceptory at Newland near Wakefield. Before this, Winckley, and the surnames associated from multiple separate families who lived there at some point, is a very ancient place name, existing before the Norman conquest of 1066. However, over time, Winckley started to lose its land, with 10 acres being sued from the estate in 1246 by Ralph de Mitton, and John de Winckley giving Winckley land at Stonyhurst to John de Bailey in 1352. Later, it seems the Winckley name here begins to die out, with the last seemingly being William Winckley in 1652, following which, the Lacy family appear, as Winckley was held by Sarah, widow of Thomas Lacy in 1696, although it was possibly truly owned by Stonyhurst at this point. The Lacy family descended with Winckley as normal until 1828 when Thomas Weld sold it to James Wilkinson who also gained Jumbles and Hacking Boat-House which used to belong to Winckley. James’ Grandson then sold Winckley to Walmsley Simpson in 1879. It was then the Simpson family who greatly affected the modern history of this area, particularly with regards to the cross, thought the area later became owned by the Baldwin Family.

An old cross used to stand here, on the hill just southeast of where the Lower Longridge road passes by a bus stop at the base of Knowles Brow. Nothing but the pedestal of this cross remained at one point, so ‘Mr Simpson, to whom the estate belong[ed], fitted a tall, graceful cross designed on the lines of the celebrated Gosforth cross’. This cross is still marked in the original location by 1930 OS maps, but it has now actually been moved to its new and current position in Mitton Church to act as the gravestone of Hartley Baldwin of Winckley Hall. He died in 1928, and his wife Jane Ann was also buried with him at the new site of the cross. The pedestal at its new position also seems new, but it is written that the original pedestal was simply reworked for the purpose of the grave.

As for the purpose of the first cross to be set upon this pedestal, long before Mr Simpson, maybe it was yet another of the many local funeral procession resting place crosses on the ancient route to Mitton, or maybe something else forgotten to history.

Park Cross

On the 1848 OS map of the area, there is a label at the north-west corner of Stonyhurst Park, just a little way up from the confluence of Dean Brook and Brownslow Brook, saying “Pedestal of Stone Cross”. It is written that this is “The pedestal of an ancient cross by an old disused road” ‘that ran from the higher road to Preston across the deer-park to Stonyhurst’, with little evidence of this old road present today. What can be seen of the old road is an unusual dip running through a field between Higher Deer House and Victory Wood, and the sunken track (still part of the right of way) crossing the stream near Park Wood, going into Stonyhurst Park Golf Course. A feature of Brownslow Brook may also show where this path would have continued westward, as there is a section of a large turn in the stream where it now flows directly across to the other side of the curve in a straight line, rather than following the clear arch that it once took, possibly due to human activity from this track. Today, this area is used for game shooting and is also frequented by roe deer, being a calm and peaceful place outside of shooting times, with Dean and Brownslow Brook bubbling down the hillside.

Some say that Stonyhurst Park Cross was put up to commemorate the death of Maria Shireburn, Duchess of Norfolk, who spent little time at her Stonyhurst estate, as her family owned lots of land and so she spent much of her time in London. It is claimed that she came to Stonyhurst due to the map (made in 1733) that was being made for her of the Stonyhurst area, and The Blackburn Hundred suggest that she spent more of her life here following her husband's death, residing at Stonyhurst from 1732-1754. She supposedly came off her horse when riding in the area and died a couple of days later. It is unclear if this is true as records of the cause of death of the most senior Catholic female noble in Britain would probably not have been recorded, particularly if it were an unfortunate accident such as this. However, the Stonyhurst Magazine gives an alternative reason, still relating to the Duchess, stating that ‘much probability is lent to the suggestion that this cross was erected to mark a resting place for the body of the Duchess of Norkolk, which was borne by this route in 1754.’ This places the Stonyhurst Park Cross as an equivalent of the resting place crosses found near to Shire Lane, including Hurst Green Cross, except with a specially designed route that took The Dutchess' body through her private Stonyhurst estate during the funeral procession. The idea that this road linked Stonyhurst and Preston suggests Maria died in Preston, as stated by some sources, or in London, as suggested in others, her body later being brought via Preston.

With the cross having broken at some point, with only the pedestal left, Fr. Luck wrote that ‘a long stone, lying near, fits into the socket of the pedestal, and appears to be the shaft of the old cross’. The shaft was fully replaced in 1910 and blessed by the Rev. R. Sykes S. J., provincial of the Jesuits. This replacement occurred following the description of the damaged cross ‘by cattle, it is thought’, as stated in the magazine of June 1910: ‘The article on the old crosses in the neighbourhood, which appeared in our last number, has aroused a great deal of interest, which has already taken a practical turn… Fr. Rector resolved to protect it from further harm by ordering a new cross to be prepared and set on the old stone base.’

Upon closer inspection of the OS map of 1848, it is found that Stonyhurst park cross, before replacement in 1910, was located further south than it is today. This is written about in the Stonyhurst Magazine, stating that ‘the cross stood in a little valley behind the higher Deer-house, known as Buck Copy; but as the ground about it is continually slipping into the stream below, it was thought better to place the new cross on top of the hill overlooking its original site.’ The new cross was erected on May 7th, 1910, made in a simple Anglo-Saxon design from the sandstone quarried from the Almshouse quarry, the same quarry used to construct Stonyhurst's South Front (and named after the Shireburn Almshouses, which used to reside in front of the quarry before the building was deconstructed and moved down the fell into Hurst Green). It was then blessed on the Sunday morning of June 12th, 1910 by Fr. Provincial. From what I can tell, the older position of the cross would have been by the side of the track through here today, near where it turns to continue in an east-west direction.

Today the cross can still be found standing within the patch of unfelled beech trees among the otherwise fully felled Victory Wood (name in reference to the planting of it following the victory of the world war, similar to the naming of the nearby Coronation Wood due to the Queen’s coronation).

St. Paulinus' Cross

‘This curious looking cross stands in a solitary position in a field near Kemple End… Whatever may be its history and origin, this cross is clearly of great antiquity.’

According to legend, St Paulinus, Bishop of York, preached here in the 7th century, along with having meetings with his disciples during his mission in the north of England (619-633AD) when he supposedly converted thousands to the Christian faith throughout the north of England; most famously baptising King Edwin of Northumbria. According to the Stonyhurst Magazine, the cross was placed here around this time, near the year 634, erected by St. Paulinus himself. Of course, evidence for this is all claims from people, with no official documents from the time. However, the suggestion is plausible since ‘St Paulinus did evangelise these parts, for many crosses have been named after him, at Whalley, Burnley, Dewsbury, Ilkley, and Keighley.’

Nobody quite knows why the cross would be placed here specifically if not for a preaching or meeting place, but Fr. Luck writes that ‘I lately noticed a depression in the ground near it, and on turning over the sods found a hole filled with large stones and soil. This may have been a Holy Well which has run dry.’ Along with this, a spring at the foot of the hill is called “The Doctor’s Well.” ‘No M.D. has ever lived near, and the name may refer to S. Paulinus. Bishops were called Doctors before the Reformation’. It is thought that the older well ‘may have been the “Doctor’s Well” originally, i.e., the spring in which St Paulinus baptised his neophytes.’ The site may also have been closer to the road in the past, the route of which may have been altered due to quarrying to form the current Higher Longridge Road. I am yet to look for evidence of the very nearby Holy Well, but the modern Doctor’s Well is still gushing crystal clear water as it has done for hundreds of years, coming out of the slope down from St. Paulinus’ Cross just below a gnarly old hawthorn tree north of Morton Knott. The water from this well now flows into Park Brook and eventually then into Dean Brook at Sandy Bridge.

As for the cross itself, ‘it is a kind of combination of the Latin and Y Cross, or Cross Pall of the Heralds.’ This essentially describes how it has the two horizontal arms like a Latin Cross, followed by two diagonal arms branching from the top, which reflect the Y Cross (commonly called the forked cross), which was also used on shields, becoming known as a pall if the cross touches the edge of the shield. Many different cross designs arose in the period of crusades to Christianise the UK, with a wide range of crosses during ‘the expeditions against the infidels’ due to the union of ‘knights of many lands and different languages.’ St. Paulinus’ Cross shaft is socketed into the topmost of two rough stone steps that are more like squared boulders. It has also been theorised that the sculptor intended this as a Celtic cross, ‘but for some reason – an accident to the stone, or a mere whim – finished it off in the form of a Latin cross.’

The Journal of Antiquities claims that the socketed base-stone is not the original, although it is unknown what happened with this. Historic England also states that while the cross is ancient, there may be some level of 19th century replacement.

The cross is still present today, as it always was, despite Henry Taylor saying that ‘when I inspected it in 1899 I found it in a somewhat tottering condition and so I sketched. It is to be hoped that the landowner may take some steps to preserve it as a historical monument.’ It sits in the same field where it always has been, although there is now another stone just east of it in the same field. This is an erect stone with a hole through it that is theorised to either be a marker for visiting pilgrims to the cross, or, more likely, part of an old gate post, and this stone is much more recent in date than the cross . The holed stone may also have come into use as a traditional way for locals of the Morton area (near Kemple End) to make deals by shaking hands through the hole, similar to a hag stone, though this is uncertain.

People do still visit this cross, such as John Bailey's Fell Walking Club from St Augustine's visiting during their crosses walk around 30 years ago, and a mini pilgrimage by Stonyhurst over 5 years ago that I attended, led by Fr. Twist.

Pinfold Cross

At the top of Robin Brow (‘the sharp little hill up from Pinfold’), lies Pinfold Cross. There was supposedly an ancient cross here, but the current cross is more recent, and was erected by the boys of Stonyhurst as a sign of respect to the death of James Wells who was a servant at Stonyhurst College and also a fiddler in the College orchestra. He fell to his death in the nearby quarry (supposedly the quarry marked on the 1948 OS map where Pinfold Wood now is, as an be seen b the large dip in the ground here today), after having ‘spent the evening too merrily’ hence why the crosses base holds the insription ‘Oft Evenings Glad Make Mornings Sad’. Other carvings on the cross base include ‘Watch For You Know Not The Day Or Hour’ and more usual memorial writings such as ‘Pray for the Soul Of James Wells’ and ‘Died Feb. 12th, 1834’. Specifically, James was returning from Dandy Row on Higher Longridge Road, commonly known as Nookses or Nooks Farm, where he had been playing his violin at a wedding.

As marked on the map of 1848, ‘the cross originally stood by the edge of the quarry, but, being hid from view, was removed to the side of the public road.’

Hague's Cross and Woodward's Cross

These crosses lie in Hodder Woods near Hodder Place, overlooking Black Wheel of the river Hodder. The most northerly one along the way commemorates the death of William Hague who drowned in the Hodder here (the old Stonyhurst bathing huts are located in Hodder Wood, and looked really fancy before they fell into ruin), on the 5th of April, 1877, leading to the cross' name Hague’s Cross. The one to the south of this commemorates James Woodward who similarly drowned on the 31st of July, 1857, leading to it being named called Woodward’s Cross. Both boys were studying to by priests at Stonyhurst before their deaths. Unfortunately, the Woodward’s Cross is now missing its shaft and stands as nothing but a pedestal near the bridge below Hodder Place. I don’t know when or how the shaft was removed, but there is still photo evidence of when it was present as taken by Edmundson Buck, and one report suggests that the shaft may now lie in the Stonyhurst grounds somewhere, although this is unlikely.

As for the purpose of these crosses, Fr. Luck puts it that 'The crosses... were placed there to remind the people to pray for the poor soul suddenly called to judgment near that spot.'

Chapel House Cross

‘“the pedestal of a stone cross” can be found on the northern slope of Longridge Fell, by the side of the road leading from Higher Hodder Bridge to Chipping. It is near Chapel House.’ By 1910, ‘old people of the district remembered it well - one old lady cured her hands of warts by dipping them into the “holy water” in the socket as a girl’. By the time of the Stonyhurst magazine, November 1887, it is written that ‘the pedestal of a stone cross was in this garden not many years since. I can find no trace of it now.’ From my own visit in the modern day I was also unable to find any remaining trace of this old cross, so will have to settle for a photo of the place where it used to be, at the top of a brow in a field by a small stream.

The purpose of this cross is not fully known, but a chapel once stood here, possibly called Chad’s chapel. This is similar to the nearby Chadswell, and even Chaigley itself (the Civil Parish that this cross was in), spelt in varying ways through the years, including Chaddeslegh in 1346, supposedly coming from 'Chad’s Lea'. These may be in reference to St Chad coming through and possibly preaching in the area, although this is unclear. In 1600 Richard Shireburne does name one ‘late dissolved chantry of St Chad in Chaigley’. St Chad was educated at the abbey of Lindisfarne under St Aiden in the 7th century. He seems to have travelled quite a lot, and he is noted as having travelled a lot on foot, which may have brought him through our area.

Some time after the time of St Chad, one Father Holden, possibly Phillip or Henry Holden, was discovered saying mass at this chapel in ‘the days of persecution’ (maybe 1600s), and was, according to legend, either beheaded at the alter where he stood, or lead a short distance away before having his head struck off, possibly by Cromwellian soldiers (possibly making it mid-1600s, since Cromwell was in the area in 1648, although Henry supposedly died closer to 1688). Other stories state that he had been saying mass at the Priest’s House that is now Merrick’s Hall, or the old chapel at Bailey Hall, and had fled to Chaigley upon discovery for refuge before his eventual capture and beheading. The head was thrown over the fence into an adjoining field and a relative (apparently his sister or mother), Mrs. Holden of Crawshaw, gathered it into her apron and took it into her house (Catholics have a thing for collecting the body parts of holy people).

These relics were kept secret by the Holden family, only ever seen by the head of the family and eldest son, until 1812, when some Stonyhurst Jesuits (possibly including Father John Fairclough) visited Crawshaw and enquired, eventually being shown the contents of an oaken chest including various relics of Father Holden, such as his head. Rather amusingly, Richard Holden of Kirkham, the son in the household, was 14 at the time of this discovery, but already knew of it as ‘his brother and sister, both older than he, had heard their parents speaking of the hidden treasure; and each independently, finding the key while their parents were absent, had stolen upstairs and peeped into the old box. But the unexpected sight of a human head within it made them hurry downstairs with a scare which they never forgot to the end of their lives.’

Apparently before its discovery at Crawshaw, the relics had been kept by the Holdens at Lambing Clough in the late 1700s, where they were carried down to a quiet place by the riverbank to be aired in the sunshine. By 1861, when they were now kept at Crawshaw again, a request of Father Clough got the relics to be moved to the College at Stonyhurst where they were laid out together in the Long Room. However, when Thomas Holden died and Henry Holden inherited the relics, he moved them to Catforth Hall, Woodplumpton, when he went to live there, later being kept at Hill House, Woodplumpton. The most recent reference to this head is from an article amended 18/12/2020 saying that the St Robert of Newminster Church at Catforth in Wooplumpton has ‘a skull traditionally said to belong to a martyred priest named Philip Holden but perhaps more likely that of Bl. Miles Gerard (Bamber)’, and it has since been proven that this is not Phillip Holden. It has been suggested that the relics and skull may still be in possession of the Holden’s somewhere.

Either way, it is thought that the Chapel House Cross was an object of devotion to this martyr, who was one of the last martyrs in England.

Boer War Memorial Cross

As the plaque on its front says: ‘This Cross commemorates the services of Frederick Sleigh, First Earl Roberts, K.G.V.C. and his companions in arms, the Soldiers and Sailors of the Empire, who fought in South Africa 1899-1902.’

This beautifully designed cross can be found to the west of ‘the Green’ which now holds the World War Memorial Cross, but before this was ‘reduced to a small triangular patch of grass’. The Stonyhurst Magazine says that ‘This was erected by our neighbour, Mr W. W. Simpson, of Winckley [who also erected the new Winckley Cross], who takes a great and practical interest in all the antiquities of the district, in memory of those who fought and fell in the Boer war.’ The Boer War ended around 1902, but I haven't found records of exactly when this cross was erected, or who carved such a design, nor is it recorded where the stone was quarried from for this cross.

Specifically, this commemorates the soldiers from the second Anglo-Boer War, often called the South African War. This war was fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states (independent, self-governing republics formed by Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the Cape Colony and their descendants, which preceded the British colony at the Cape of Good Hope) which were the South African Republic also known as the Republic of Transvaal, and the Orange Free State. This fight was over the Empire’s influence in South Africa, triggered by the discovery of diamonds and gold in the Boer states. Frederick Roberts took overall command of British forces on the 23rd December, 1899, although I can’t find anything linking him specifically to the Hurst Green area, so the cross must just be commemorating everyone that fought in the war in general, with Frederick at the head, rather than anyone specifically from the area.

The cross is a Latin Cross, but also has a very Celtic/Nordic-looking design on it.

World War Memorial Cross

Hurst Green's War Memorial Cross commemorates those who fought in the First and Second World Wars. It's shaft is in the shape of a triangular prism so that the inscriptions of the people can be marked under which of the three civil parishes of Aighton, Bailey, and Chaigley they were from, with the name of the civil parish that each side represents being found at the base of the shaft.

Under the Bailey side, which faces westward towards Bailey is listed: Richard Baker, Fred Bradley, and George Holden; under the Chaigley side, which faces more northward (towards Chaigley), is listed Henry Preston; and under the Aighton side facing south (you can't exactly face towards Aighton when you're in it, so it's just on the side that doesn't face Bailey or Chaigley), is James Armstrong, Aloysius Bolton, Alfred W Bolton, Edwin Bradley, William Charnley, Henry Fullalove, John Holden, Thomas Holden, James Hardiker, John Livesey, and John Tomlinson. The Aighton side is also the side that has written at the top 'erected to the memory of the following who fell in the great war 1914-1919.' At the base of this side is yet another inscription 'may they rest in peace.' and then a bit at the end to commemorate the only two people on this memorial from the Second World War, saying '1939-1945', followed by the names of John J Rawcliffe and Aloysius Cross.

This is the only local cross that still actively plays a role in the local community, as this is where we gather for the Memorial Day service each year. Shown by some of the old photos by Edmundson Buck, where you may be able to spot that the Second World War commemorations are yet to have been added to the cross. More recently, Barry Bolton has some excellent photos from the past few Memorial Days, showing the locals and Stonyhurst staff and pupils all gathering together along with the Stonyhurst CCF.

Now, there is one cross that I haven't mentioned yet, that I don't think really counts like the others, but I'll describe it here anyway.

A Stonyhurst Magazine writer, possibly Fr. Luck, or someone later than him, had heard the claims that the fragments of Cross Gills Cross' original shaft had been incorporated into the garden wall of Seed's Farm. He openly complained about this form of naming a farm based on who tenants it at the time, since it means the names are so subject to change, but he did find that Warren Farm had been tenanted by some of the name Seed, and while he doubted this was the correct place based on distance from the Cross Gills Cross, he went to check it out. It seems he was unable to find evidence of the original cross fragments, but he did find something else. 'I inspected the walls, and in that around the Warren I found a large stone into the face of which had been carved a cross with three steps. No history of this little cross - it is only about a foot high - could be traced, except that a woman remarked while I was looking at it, that she had always heard that the stone had been brought from Cutler Bailey's house in Dean Bottom. The cutler had been poisoned many years ago by his wife, who put poison into his tea, and to escape detection broke the teapot against the wall of the house. Was the poisoned pot broken against this stone, and was the cross cut on it to hallow it?' I have not been able to find evidence of this cross in the modern day.

Either way, that marks the final cross I have found mentioned about from my home area, so that's where I'll finish this little piece. Thanks for reading.