Maen Achwyfan Cross

Maen Achwyfan Cross, near the village of Whitford, Flintshire, Wales, is a high cross dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. Standing 3.4 metres (11 ft) high, it is the tallest wheel cross in Britain, and a Scheduled monument.

Maen Achwyfan Cross
"the tallest Wheel-Cross in Britain"
Type	Cross
Location	Whitford, Flintshire
Coordinates	53.2986°N 3.30853°W / 53.2986; -3.30853
Built	10th/11th century
Governing body	Cadw
Scheduled monument
Official name: Maen Achwyfan
Reference no.	FL005
Location of Maen Achwyfan Cross in Flintshire

History and description

Cadw translates Maen Achwyfan as "the stone of [Saint] Cwyfan" and dates the cross to the early Medieval or Medieval periods.[1] Edward Hubbard, in his Clwyd Pevsner, suggests a build date of the late 10th or early 11th century.[2] It stands 3.4 m high and is carved from a single block of stone.[3] Its height makes it the "tallest wheel cross in Britain".[1] Its wheel cross head has bosses on both sides.[2] The shaft is decorated with knotwork and with images of men and animals. Hubbard recorded in 2003 that the figurative images were "now barely discernible".[2] Cadw notes the Viking influence on the design, the cross being carved at a time when Viking raids were common along the North Wales coastline.[3]

The cross stands in a field to the north of the village of Whitford. It is a Scheduled monument.[4]

References

1. "Scheduled Monument – Full Report – HeritageBill Cadw Assets – Reports". Cadw. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
2. Hubbard 2003, p. 456.
3. "Maen Achwyfan Cross". cadw.gov.wales. Cadw. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
4. "Maen Achwyfan Cross". Coflein. Retrieved 27 July 2020.

Sources

• Hubbard, Edward (2003). Clwyd: Denbighshire and Flintshire. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09627-9.

External links

• Coflein site with images of the cross
• Articles on the cross by Prof. Howard Williams – The Offa's Dyke Collaboratory