Black and white

Acc.no: PEZPH : 2016.50.1047

Identification

Item: Aelnat's Cross, Fore Street, Tintagel, Cornwall.

Description: The cross with its unusual design appears in Arthur Langdon's book on Cornish Crosses pp366-368 (published in 1896). It is made of grey elvan and stands 3ft 11in in height, dating back to C5-C6 but the engraving and decoration is regarded as having been completed later between C10-C11. It is photographed standing on a small grass plot in front of what was the Wharncliffe Arms Hotel (since converted into flats). This isn't the original position of the cross. It was removed here in 1875 by JJE Venning, Lord Wharncliffe's steward from a farm at Trevillet, two miles east of Tintagel. It is in a mutilated condition partly because it had been used to hang a gatepost on the farm and still bears the holes for the iron hooks. The inscriptions are written with Anglo-Saxon capitals and miniscules. The front of the cross is dedicated to the four gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, although the fourth name is abbreviated as "Ioh", for Johannes. The back of the cross mentions its creator, Aelnat, from whom the name of the cross is derived. An illustration of the inscriptions is attached.

Condition: Good

Description

Material: Photographic paper

Production

Method: Printed

Category: Photography

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