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Summary

Also known as 'Windypost Cross' or 'Windystone'. Located next to track leading from the moor around Merrivale into Tavistock. Octagonal in section, the cross is 2.0 metres high and leans slightly to the west. By Dartmoor standards it has been well dressed, with chamfered edges. This suggests a relatively late medieval date, in which case it might be a replacement of an earlier cross.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1008927: Windy Post: a wayside cross on open moorland 1.8km north of Sampford Spiney village
• SHINE: Northern section of the leat that served the medieval manor houses of Grimstone and Sortridge

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX57SW4
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 440422
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57SW/42
• Old SAM Ref: 24812

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CROSS (Constructed, Late Medieval - 1401 AD (Between) to 1539 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Stone Cross' shown on 19th century map.

Masson Phillips, E. N., 1937, The Ancient Stone Crosses of Devon: Part I, 316 (Article in Serial). SDV240502.

"Windypost" or "Beckamoor Cross" is on the moor north of Pen Tor and close to Feather Tor. It is a tall, Type B cross of octagonal section, leaning slightly to the west. The shaft is straight and does not taper. The square corner of a broken stone (? socket-stone) is visible at the base of the cross, partly hidden by turf.

Beckerlegge, J. J., 1940, Ninth report of the Plymouth and District Branch, 154 (Article in Serial). SDV147947.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX57SW4, SX57SW4 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV220154.

Cross is 2.0 metres high and leans approximately 12 degrees to the west. Span of the arms is 0.7 metres. Constructed from moorland granite, the massive octagonal shaft is set in a large rectangular socket.

Hemery, E., 1986, Walking Dartmoor's Ancient Tracks, 74-8 (Monograph). SDV220153.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 130913, 1993 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Wayside cross known as Windypost, Windystone or Beckamoor Cross. Situated immediately next to a long established track leading from the moor around Merrivale into Tavistock. Cross lies on level ground between Barn Hill and Feather Tor and is visible for long distances from the west and east.
The monument includes a granite cross with a Latin head and a straight octagonal shaft inserted into a platform composed of several stones, one of which is part of a broken socket stone. Cross leans slightly to the west, stands 2.0 metres high and its arms measure 0.7 metres wide and these are also chamfered to produce an octagonal section. An Ordnance Survey bench mark is cut into the lower part of the cross-shaft on the south-facing side.

1993, Untitled Source (Photograph). SDV220157.

Photographs by S. Gerrard (15/4/1993). Other details: In HER.

Rendell, P., 1994, Which way to Cockerntor?, 3-4 (Article in Serial). SDV220303.

Watson, A., 2007-2017?, Devon Crosses, 19 (Un-published). SDV360833.

Beckamoor Cross stands beside the Grimstone and Sortridge Leat, on the saddle between Feather Tor and Barn Hill overlooking the Beacksmoor Crook, about two and a half miles east of Tavistock. A tall cross of octagonal section with chamfered edges. It has an Ordnance Survey bench mark on its shaft. It has moved slightly out of vertical over the years. The cross is 15th century and stands on the old packhorse track between Tavistock and Ashburton. The cross os also known as 'Windypost'.
Cross height 2.08 metres, span 0.68 metres.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

'Bullseye Stone, Stone Cross' shown on the modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1008927 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

The monument includes a well preserved granite cross known as Windy Post or Beckamoor Cross, conspicuously sited on a col forming the lowest moorland crossing point between the watersheds of the Rivers Walkham and Tavy, on the line of a medieval route leading from Tavistock eastwards across Dartmoor, and beside two branches of the still flowing Grimstone and Sortridge leat.
The cross is formed from a single piece of moderately coarse-grained granite. It has a considerable lean to the west though seems firmly set - the corner of a presumed socket stone is visible. The arms of the cross are aligned east-west. The total length of the cross is 2.0 metres. The shaft, arms and head all have well-chamfered edges, which make the cross octagonal in section, though discounting the chamfers the shaft is nearly square, being approximately 0.3 metres by 0.29 metres. The chamfers are between 0.1 metres and 0.11 metres wide. The head of the cross is rounded at the top, and extends 0.28 metres above the arms, while the arms extend 0.18 metres beyond the shaft and are 0.29 metres deep.
An Ordnance Survey bench mark has been cut on the south side of the shaft - the top of the bench mark is 0.49 metres above the turf. The south side of the east arm of the cross is missing approximately 0.15 metres of chamfer, probably due to an old break. The visible portion of the presumed socket stone, which is of granite, measures 0.8 metres by 0.45 metres by 0.15 metres thick. It appears to be held up by another stone 0.8 metres by 0.26 metres by 0.16 metres thick angled underneath it on the west-south-west side. Another partially buried stone lies approximately 0.75 metres to the south. Its visible portion measures 0.55 metres by 0.4 metres by 0.15 metres thick. These stones are believed to form part of a platform on which the cross is sited.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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