Immediately outside church gate

First certainly recorded in present location in 1845 (Haslam 1845, 31 and fig.); first recorded 1801 'Without the church-yard', possibly in present location (Britton and Brayley 1801, 494). Rec-orded in 1842 'in the road', facing entrance to church-yard, illustrated in octagonal base only (Paris 1824, 110 and fig.); however in 1820 described as 'elevated on steps' (Gilbert 1820, 726). Langdon conjectured that cross might occupy original location but now 'elevated on the present massive substructure' (Langdon, Arthur 1896, 125–6, quotation from p. 126)

St Berian

Monument broken but stable; ornament very worn; situation fair

Cross-head and -shaft of rectangular section, set on top of a composite three-tier stone base. The two bottom tiers of the base are square in plan; the third is a single piece of granite of hexagonal plan into which the cross is socketed. The round-headed cross bears a simple relief-carved Crucifixion and cross on the head and has no other decoration.

A (broad): On the cross-head, with legs extending onto the shaft, is a simple doll-like figure of Christ carved in very shallow relief. Christ stands erect, wearing a knee-length tunic, with arms extended horizontally and over-large feet turned out. If any further detail was originally carved, it is not now visible.

B and D (narrow): No trace of any ornament

C (broad): On the head is a cross, type A1, formed by sinking triangles above the horizontal arms and incising triangles below them, leaving boss-like uncarved areas between the lower cross-arms.

Appendix D item (continuing tradition)

Thomas suggested that this cross and two others very like it in St Buryan parish (St Buryan 4 and 5, Ills. 287–8, 289–90) might pre-date and have helped inspire St Buryan 1 (p. 126, Ills. 29–32; Thomas, A. C. 1978, 78–9). However, for reasons more fully discussed under St Buryan 4 below, this theory is difficult to sustain. St Buryan 3 is a simple wayside cross with decoration derived from the churchyard cross, St Buryan 1, not the other way round. The Crucifixion is far simpler than that carved on the churchyard cross and the form of cross carved on the head can be compared with the Early Geometric designs used on cross-slab grave-covers of the early Norman period (Ryder 1991, 50–1).

The position of the cross just outside the church in an open area in the churchtown may indicate that, although originally intended for use as a wayside cross, the monument was re-used as a market cross in the late medieval period. A market at St Buryan is recorded in the fourteenth century (Preston-Jones and Rose 1986, 164; Preston-Jones and Langdon, Andrew 1997, 114).

Twelfth century

Britton and Brayley 1801, 494; Gilbert 1820, 726; Paris 1824, 110 and fig.; Haslam 1847, 310 and fig.; Hingston 1850, no. 14 and fig.; (—) 1851, 1621; Blight 1856, 9 and fig.; Blight 1861, 168–9; Blight 1862b, 21; Edmonds 1862, 241n; Blight 1865, 9; Plosue 1867, 162; Sedding, J. 1872, 216; (—) 1873, 57; Langdon, Arthur 1896, 125–6, passim and figs.; Langdon, Arthur 1906, 432; Dexter and Dexter 1938, 208 and figs.; Henderson, C. 1953–6a, 64; Crofts 1955, 47; Russell 1971, 83; Rowe, L. 1973, fig.; Pearce 1978, 178; Thomas, A. C. 1978, 78–9; Preston-Jones and Rose 1986, 159; Langdon, Andrew 1997, 13; Preston-Jones and Langdon, Andrew 1997, 114, 118–19, 122, fig. 4.2; Henderson, M. unpub. 1985, entry 72, p. 175 and figs.

[1] It is not certain which St Buryan cross this refers to.