Browse crosses

Location

O/S Grid Ref:  SX/59184/70304       Longitude/Latitude (Degrees+/-):  -3.98756/50.51553  

Map location:  Click here to view map.

Purpose:  This is probably one of a number of crosses that marks the route of the Monks’ Path. This is the ancient name given to the track that links the Buckfast Abbey with those at Tavistock and Buckland.

No-one is entirely sure which course the path took to the West of Nun’s Cross. However, considering the number of ancient crosses on this track it is perfectly feasible that it passed this way, via Walkhampton, to Tavistock and Buckland.

Size:  6 feet 1 inch (1.86 metres) tall. 1 foot 11 inches (0.59 metres) across the arms.

Information:  We have heard this cross referred to as ‘Medieval Cross’. It is certainly an ancient cross and, like so many others, has been thrown down and damaged in the past. The original head and the upper part of the shaft were found lying damaged, in the 19^th Century, near to the spot where it now stands. The lower section of the shaft was made when the cross was repaired and reset to its current position.

In 2023, the National Park Authority realised that the cross was becoming quite weak again, with the whole cross being in danger of falling apart or being blown over.  They then took the decision to have the cross dismantled and put back together again with reinforcing rods running through it to hold the whole structure together and make it far more stable.  Hopefully this will now have secured the future of the cross for many years to come, so that it can continue to be a notable landmark for the many passers-by on the track from Peat Cot to the Burrator Reservoir.