Eleanor Cross, Geddington (Nottinghamshire)

A monument built by Edward I around 1291 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile. Free Admission.

Summary Free admission Art and sculpture

Introduction

The Eleanor crosses were 12 lavishly decorated stone monuments, of which three survive intact, in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had the crosses erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly resting-places along the route taken by her body as it was taken to London. Several artists worked on the crosses, as the "Expense Rolls" of the Crown show, with some of the work being divided between the main figures, sent from London, and the framework, made locally. This site is maintained by English Heritage.

Open all year round at any time.

History to the present day

Upon her death in 1290 at Harby, near the city of Lincoln, her body was carried to the Gilbertine priory of St Catherine in the south of Lincoln where she was embalmed. Her viscera were sent for burial in the Angel Choir of Lincoln Cathedral, where they still rest. Her body was then sent to London, taking 12 days to reach Westminster Abbey. The crosses were erected at the places where her funeral procession stopped overnight.

At Westminster she was buried at the feet of her father-in-law King Henry III. Her heart travelled with the body and was buried in the abbey church at Blackfriars.

Only three crosses still survive. The Geddington Cross is said to be the best-preserved of the three survivors. It seems to be unique among the surviving crosses in having a triangular plan, and a taller and more slender profile with a lower tier entirely covered with diapering, instead of an arch-and-gable motif with tracery that appears on both the others; and canopied statues surmounted by a slender hexagonal pinnacle.

The other crosses were at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Hardingstone, Northampton (still survives), Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, Waltham (now Waltham Cross), Westcheap (now Cheapside), Charing (now Charing Cross, where there is a Victorian replica).