Cross - High cross (present location)

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the edge of a small stream in Oldcourt Demesne; said to have been found in a nearby roadside hedge in the eighteenth century (Ó hÉalidhe 1988, 98). A tall semi-pyramidal block of granite (H 1.13m; 0.78m x 0.72m at base) with centrally placed mortice. The lower two-thirds of the E, W and S faces are framed by roll-moulding and are divided into two panels by a horizontal bar, while the upper third comprises a separately framed panel. The N face is undecorated. The lower panels all contain figure sculpture although some are badly eroded. The upper panels may have been sculpted originally. Recognisable scenes include St Michael Weighing Souls and Daniel in the Lions' Den (E face); The Fall of Adam and Eve (W face); a hunting scene and two rearing animals (S face). (Harbison 1992, 158-9; Mason 2010, 26-29). This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 143/1940).

See attached photographs provided by Chris Corlett

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997), no. 990. In this instance the record has been updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 29 November 2012

Revised by: Claire Breen

References

Ó hÉalidhe, P. 1988 'The cross base at Oldcourt near Bray, Co. Wicklow' p. 98-110 in E. Rynne (ed.) Figures from the past: studies in figurative art in Christian Ireland(Dublin)

Mason, J. 2010 An Early Christian cross base in Bray. Archaeology Ireland 24(3), 26-9.

Harbison, P. 1992 The high crosses of Ireland: an iconographical and photographic survey, 3 vols. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy. Bonn. Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH.