Maen Achwyfan
| Maen Achwyfan Cross | |
|---|---|
.jpg?lang=en) "the tallest Wheel-Cross in Britain" | |
| Type | Cross |
| Location | Whitford, Flintshire |
| Coordinates | 53°17′55″N 3°18′31″W / 53.2986°N 3.30853°W |
| Built | 10th/11th century |
| Governing body | Cadw |
| Official name | Maen Achwyfan |
| Reference no. | FL005 |
  Location of Maen Achwyfan Cross in Flintshire | |
Maen Achwyfan is a high cross dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. Standing 3.4 metres (11 ft) high, it is the tallest wheel cross in Britain, and a Scheduled monument.
History and description
Cadw translates Maen Achwyfan as "the stone of [Saint] Cwyfan" and dates the cross to the early Medieval or Medieval periods.[1] Edward Hubbard, in his Clwyd Pevsner, suggests a build date of the late 10th or early 11th century.[2] It stands 3.4 m high and is carved from a single block of stone.[3] Its height makes it the "tallest wheel cross in Britain".[1] Its wheel cross head has bosses on both sides.[2] The shaft is decorated with knotwork and with images of men and animals. Hubbard records in 2003 that the figurative images are "now barely discernible".[2] Cadw notes the Viking influence on the design, the cross being carved at a time when Viking raids were common along the North Wales coastline.[3]
The cross stands in a field to the north of the village of Whitford. It is a Scheduled monument.[4]
References
- ^ a b "Scheduled Monument - Full Report - HeritageBill Cadw Assets - Reports". Cadw. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Hubbard 2003, p. 456.
- ^ a b "Maen Achwyfan Cross". cadw.gov.wales. Cadw. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "Maen Achwyfan Cross". Coflein. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
Sources
- Hubbard, Edward (2003). Clwyd: Denbighshire and Flintshire. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09627-9.
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