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
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