Percy Cross

I’ve had my eye on this medieval wayside cross for some time but its position at the edge of a road verge is not very photogenic. Last night’s snowfall, however, has had the double effect of transforming the scene and highlighting the base of the cross known as Percy Cross. Although the shaft is missing and what’s left has been cemented into the recess in the base, the cross is still listed as an ancient monument by Historic England. Positioned alongside the ancient road south known as Ernaldsti, the cross is first mentioned in a charter of 1231 as marking the southern tip of the monastic land of Guisborough Priory with its boundary with the lands belonging to the Percies of Kildale. The small knoll on the left in the photo is also of archaeological importance. It is a Bronze Age bowl barrow and a scheduled ancient monument. Highcliff Nab is the distance.