RD100

Cross Slab in Llowes Church  

 

Designated  

Powys  

Glasbury  

319243  

241721  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Cross-marked stone  

Early Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument consists of a stone with a cross carved into the surface, probably dating to the 11th century AD. Also known as St Meilig’s Cross, the stone is a square-headed, slightly tapering slab c.2m high by 0.8m wide by 0.3m thick. The slab is decorated on the front by a Latin wheel-cross of Celtic Irish type, with square arm-ends, plain narrow wheel, wide rounded arm-pits and slightly splayed stem. The arms and upper stem of the cross are filled with reticulated pattern carved in shallow relief. The other side of the slab is decorated by a similar cross in high relief but is plain and without the wheel. The cross is said to have stood originally on the mountain at Croesfeilig (SO180446) before being moved into the churchyard (possibly in the 12th century) and then into the church (in 1956). The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the organisation and practice of medieval Christianity. A cross marked stone may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.