Editing Eleanor cross

{{Short description|English stone crosses erected in 1291–95}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
[[File:Geddington Eleanor cross.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Geddington]], [[Northamptonshire]], the best-preserved of the original crosses, and the only triangular one]]
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The '''Eleanor crosses''' were a series of twelve tall and lavishly decorated stone monuments topped with [[Christian cross|crosses]] erected in a line down part of the east of England. [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]] had them built between 1291 and about 1295 in memory of his wife [[Eleanor of Castile]].  The King and Queen had been married for 36 years and she stayed by the King's side through his many travels. While on a [[royal progress]], she died in the [[East Midlands]] in November 1290.  The crosses, erected in her memory, marked the nightly resting-places along the route taken when her body was transported to [[Westminster Abbey]] near the [[City of London]].

The crosses stood at [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], [[Grantham]] and [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]], all in [[Lincolnshire]]; [[Geddington]] and [[Hardingstone]] in [[Northamptonshire]]; [[Stony Stratford]] in [[Buckinghamshire]]; [[Woburn, Bedfordshire|Woburn]] and [[Dunstable]] in [[Bedfordshire]]; [[St Albans]] and Waltham (now [[Waltham Cross]]) in [[Hertfordshire]]; [[Cheapside]] in London; and Charing (now [[Charing Cross]]) in [[Westminster]].

Three of the medieval monuments – those at Geddington, Hardingstone and Waltham Cross – survive more or less intact; but the other nine, other than a few fragments, are lost. Some were destroyed during the Reformation and Civil War, due to their Catholic associations. The largest and most ornate of the twelve was the Charing Cross.  Several memorials and elaborated reproductions of the crosses have been erected, including the [[Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross]] at [[Charing Cross Station]] (built 1865), {{convert|200|m|yd}} northeast{{snd}}along the [[Strand, London|Strand]] roadway{{snd}}of the original site of the Charing Cross.

Edward I's use of architecture is known for containing an element of propaganda. In her lifetime, Eleanor had been unpopular with the public, particularly for her acquisitiveness regarding land holdings, which had been associated with the abuse of Jewish loans, attracting strong criticism from the church. The series of Crosses played a role in rehabilitating Eleanor's image as an idealised Queen and woman, as well as projecting royal and spiritual power. The Lincoln [[Little Saint Hugh#Veneration|tomb of a child]] falsely claimed to be [[Blood libel|martyred by Jews]] is widely assumed to form part of the series, positioning Eleanor and Edward as defenders against the [[Edict of Expulsion|recently expelled]] Jews. The series has architectural parallels, most notably the 1271 ''montjoies'' marking the funeral route of King [[Louis IX of France]], which were designed as part of an attempt to promote his canonisation as a saint.

==Background==

===Procession and burials===
[[File:Eleonora Eduard1.jpg|thumb|[[Eleanor of Castile]], Queen Consort of England 1272–1290]]

Eleanor of Castile died on 28 November 1290 at [[Harby, Nottinghamshire]].<ref>Cockerill 2014, pp. 342–343.</ref> Edward and Eleanor loved each other and much like his father, Edward was very devoted to his wife and remained faithful to her throughout their married lives. He was deeply affected by her death and displayed his grief by erecting twelve so-called Eleanor crosses, one at each place where her funeral [[cortège]] stopped for the night.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|2009|pages=230–231}}</ref>

Following her death the body of Queen Eleanor was carried to [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]], about {{convert|7|mi|km}} away, where she was embalmed – probably either at the [[Gilbertine]] [[St Katherine's Priory, Lincoln|priory of St Katherine]] in the south of the city, or at the priory of the Dominicans.<ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 32–34.</ref> Her [[Organ (anatomy)|viscera]], with the exception of her heart, were buried in the Angel Choir of [[Lincoln Cathedral]] on 3 December.<ref name="cock344">Cockerill 2014, p. 344.</ref> Eleanor's other remains were carried to London, a journey of about {{convert|180|mi|km}}, that lasted 12 days. Her body was buried in [[Westminster Abbey]], at the feet of her father-in-law King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] on 17 December; while her heart was buried in the church of the London Dominicans' priory at [[Blackfriars, London|Blackfriars]] (a house that she and Edward had heavily patronised) on 19 December, along with those of her young son [[Alphonso, Earl of Chester]], who had died in 1284, and of [[John de Vesci]], who had died in 1289.<ref>Cockerill 2014, p. 348.</ref>

===Purpose and parallels===
[[File:Hennequin und Herman von) Brüder (Pol Limburg 002.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Illumination from the [[Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry]] ({{circa|1412}}–1416) depicting a cross possibly representing one of the ''montjoies'' of [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]]<ref name="evans"/>]]
{{see also|market cross|preaching cross}}
Eleanor's crosses appear to have been intended in part as expressions of royal power; and in part as [[cenotaph]]s to encourage [[chantry chapel|prayers for her soul]] from travellers.<ref>''Chronicle of St Albans''.</ref><ref>Colvin 1963, p. 485.</ref><ref>Cockerill 2014, pp. 351–52.</ref> On the pedestal of each was inscribed the phrase ''Orate pro anima'' ("Pray for [her] soul").<ref>Hunter 1842, p. 180.</ref> Eleanor's reputation had been tarnished by her trafficking in Jewish loans and land acquisition in her own lifetime.<ref>{{harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|p=13}}, {{harvnb|Davies|2018|pp=72-74}}, {{harvnb|Morris|2009|p=225}}</ref> Favourable mentions in contemporary chronicles do not emerge until the succession of her son.{{sfn|Parsons|1995|pp=216-7}}The Crosses have been an important element in forming her reputation as an idealised Queen, focusing attention on her relationship with Edward.<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|2018|pp=68, 74-79}}</ref>

It was not unknown for [[memorial cross]]es to be constructed in the middle ages, although they were normally isolated instances and relatively simple in design.  A cross in the [[Strand, London|Strand]], just outside the [[City of London]], was said to have been erected by [[William II of England|William II]] in memory of his mother, [[Matilda of Flanders|Queen Matilda]] (d. 1083). [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] erected one at [[Merton, London (parish)|Merton]], Surrey, for his cousin the [[William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey|Earl of Surrey]] (d. 1240). Another was erected at [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] for Edward I's sister [[Beatrice of England|Beatrice]] (d. 1275). Yet another, almost contemporary with the Eleanor crosses, was erected near [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] for Edward's mother, [[Eleanor of Provence]] (d.1291).<ref name="colv484_5">Colvin 1963, pp. 484–85.</ref><ref>Parsons 1991, pp. 18, 60.</ref><ref>Parsons 1995, p. 209.</ref>

The closest precedent for the Eleanor crosses, and almost certainly their model, was the series of nine crosses known as ''montjoies'' erected along the funeral route of King [[Louis IX of France]] in 1271. These were elaborate structures incorporating sculptural representations of the King, and were erected in part to promote his [[canonisation]] (a campaign that in 1297 succeeded). Eleanor's crosses never aspired to this last purpose, but in design were even larger and more ornate than the ''montjoies'', being of at least three rather than two tiers.<ref name="evans">{{harvnb|Evans|1949|pages=13–16}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Branner |author-link=Robert Branner |chapter=The Montjoies of Saint Louis |editor1-first=Douglas |editor1-last=Fraser |editor2-first=Howard |editor2-last=Hibbard |editor2-link=Howard Hibbard |editor3-first=Milton J. |editor3-last=Lewine |title=Essays in the History of Architecture presented to Rudolf Wittkower |location=London |publisher=Phaidon |year=1967  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=John |last=Zukowsky |title=Montjoies and Eleanor Crosses reconsidered |journal=[[Gesta (journal)|Gesta]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |year=1974 |pages=39–44 |doi=10.2307/766698 |jstor=766698 |s2cid=193389410 }}</ref><ref name="colv484_5"/><ref>Cockerill 2014, p. 351.</ref>

Eleanor has subsequently been an unclear and contested figure in English history.<ref>Holinshed, Raphael, ''Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland''; quoted in {{harvnb|Griffin|2009|p=52}}</ref> Since her death, she has been portrayed in both positive and negative lights, with romantic and aggressive portrayals, focusing on her relationship with Edward or her role as a Spanish, foreign monarch.<ref>{{harvnb|Griffin|2015|p=204}}, {{harvnb|Cockerill|2014}}, {{harvnb|Griffin|2009|pp=53–57}}</ref>

===Commemoration===
====Tomb monuments====
Both the burial of Eleanor's body at Westminster and her visceral burial at Lincoln were subsequently marked by ornate [[effigial monument]]s, both with similar life-sized gilt bronze effigies cast by the goldsmith [[William Torell]].<ref>Colvin 1963, pp. 481–82.</ref><ref>Alexander and Binski 1987, pp. 364–66.</ref> Her heart burial at the Blackfriars was marked by another elaborate monument, but probably not with a life-sized effigy.<ref name="colv482_3">Colvin 1963, pp. 482–83.</ref><ref>Hunter 1842, pp. 186–87.</ref><ref name="gall79_80">Galloway 1914, pp. 79–80.</ref><ref>Cockerill 2014, pp. 350–351.</ref> The Blackfriars monument was lost following the priory's [[dissolution of the monasteries|dissolution]] in 1538.<ref name="colv482_3"/><ref name="gall79_80"/> The Lincoln monument was destroyed in the 17th century, but was replaced in 1891 with a reconstruction, not on the site of the original.<ref>{{cite book |first=A. F. |last=Kendrick |title=The Cathedral Church of Lincoln: a history and description of its fabric and a list of the bishops |location=London |publisher=G. Bell and Sons |year=1917 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cathedralchurcho00kend/page/130 130]–31 |url=https://archive.org/details/cathedralchurcho00kend }}</ref><ref>Parsons 1995, p. 208.</ref><ref>Galloway 1914, pp. 68–69 (gives the erroneous date of 1901).</ref> The Westminster Abbey monument survives.

====Form and content of the crosses====
The twelve crosses were erected to mark the places where Eleanor's funeral procession had stopped overnight.<ref>Botfield and Turner 1841.</ref> They take three part form, with the royal arms in the lower part, and statues of Eleanor above. In these, her crowned head is bowed, and she holds a sceptre. Her posture draws on [[Marian devotions|Marian]] imagery to suggest grace and submission, and the imagery echoes that of her tombs.{{sfn|Davies|2018|pp=74-75}} According to historian Paul Binski, their "elaborate display" conveys power as part of an authoritarian project; her statues' gaze should be interpreted as active, gazing out from a protected height onto her territory.{{sfn|Binski|1996|p=110}} They had a function that was both spiritual and temporal, binding localities with the source of power on earth, at Westminster.{{sfn|Davies|2018|p=85}}

=====Construction of the crosses=====
Their construction is documented in the executors' account rolls, which survive from 1291 to March 1294, but not thereafter.<ref>Botfield and Turner 1841.</ref> By the end of that period, the crosses at Lincoln, Hardingstone, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans and Waltham were complete or nearly so, and those at Cheapside and Charing in progress; but those at Grantham, Stamford and Geddington apparently not yet begun. It is assumed that these last three were erected in 1294 or 1295, and that they were certainly finished before the financial crisis of 1297 which brought a halt to royal building works.<ref name="colv483_4">Colvin 1963, pp. 483–4.</ref> A number of artists worked on the crosses, as the account rolls show, with a distinction generally drawn between the main structures, made locally under the direction of master masons appointed by the King, and the statues of Eleanor, made of [[Caen stone]], and other sculptural details, brought from London. Master masons included Richard of Crundale, Roger of Crundale (probably Richard's brother), Michael of Canterbury, Richard of Stow, John of Battle and Nicholas Dymenge.<ref name="colv483_4"/> Sculptors included [[Alexander of Abingdon]] and William of Ireland, both of whom had worked at Westminster Abbey, who were paid £3 6s. 8d. apiece for the statues; and Ralph of Chichester.<ref>Hastings 1955, pp. 20–21.</ref><ref>Powrie 1990, p. 65.</ref><ref name="Cockerill 2014, p. 357">Cockerill 2014, p. 357.</ref><ref>Liversidge 1989.</ref>

====Shrine of Little St Hugh====
{{see also|Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln#Veneration}}
[[File:Drawing of the Shrine of Little St Hugh, Lincoln Cathedral, William Dugdale, 1641 crop.png|thumb|upright=0.6|right|Drawing of the Shrine of Little St Hugh, Lincoln Cathedral, William Dugdale, 1641]]
The tomb of [[Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln]] was rebuilt around the same time, probably by the same crafstmen and designers as the Eleanor crosses. It featured the [[Coat of arms of England|royal arms]], and decoration commemorating Eleanor.<ref name="David Stocker, 1986">Stocker 1986.</ref><ref name="Stacey, 2001">Stacey 2001.</ref> David Stocker believes that the shrine "displays such close acquaintance with the Eleanor crosses that it has to be considered alongside them."<ref>Stocker, 1986; quoted in Hillaby & Hillaby 2013, p. 329.</ref>

The cult of Little St Hugh venerated a false [[blood libel|ritual murder]] allegation against the Jewish community of Lincoln, and was revived after the [[Edict of Expulsion|Expulsion of the Jews]] in 1290. Eleanor had been widely disliked for large-scale purchase of Jewish bonds, with the aim of requisitioning the lands and properties of those indebted.<ref>Hillaby & Hillaby 2013, p. 658</ref>  It has been suggested that the proximity of the shrine's design to the Eleanor crosses was deliberate, in order to position Edward and Eleanor as protectors of Christians against supposed Jewish criminality.<ref name="David Stocker, 1986"/><ref name="Stacey, 2001"/><ref>Hillaby 1994, pp. 90–98</ref> According to historian Joe Hillaby, the crosses and tomb amounted to a "propaganda coup".{{sfn|Hillaby|1994|pp=94-98}}

==Destruction, restoration and the Gothic revival==
The crosses suffered greatly during the [[Reformation]] and the [[English Civil War]]s, as they represented a Catholic worldview, of public iconography.

Interest in English Gothic styles of architecture grew around the start of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. This coincided with a revival of interest in Eleanor as an idealised Queen. The design and form of the Eleanor Crosses was used to create new memorials, including commemorations of highly Protestant themes, while a number of the original Crosses including Charing Cross were recreated.

==Locations==
===Lincoln===
[[File:Eleanor cross, Lincoln 20201014 110317 (50481044968).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|The surviving fragment of the Lincoln cross]]
<small>({{Coord|53|12|51|N|00|32|47|W|region:GB}})</small><br/>
Eleanor rested on the first night of the journey at the [[St Katherine's Priory, Lincoln|Priory of Saint Katherine without Lincoln]] and her viscera were buried in [[Lincoln Cathedral]] on 3 December 1290. The [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] cross was built between 1291 and 1293 by Richard of Stow at a total recorded cost of over £120, with sculptures by William of Ireland (also named as William "{{lang|la| Imaginator}}", or image-maker).<ref name="colv483">Colvin 1963, p. 483.</ref><ref>Galloway 1914, p. 68.</ref><ref>Cockerill 2014, p. 355.</ref> [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], in the early 1540s, noted that "a litle without Barre [gate] is a very fair crosse and large".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Toulmin Smith |editor-first=Lucy |title=The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535–1543 |location=London |publisher=George Bell and Sons |year=1907 |volume=1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/itineraryjohnle02lelagoog/page/n86 30] |url=https://archive.org/details/itineraryjohnle02lelagoog }}</ref> It stood at Swine Green, [[St Catherine's, Lincoln|St Catherine's]], an area just outside the city at the southern end of the [[High Street, Lincoln|High Street]], but had disappeared by the early 18th century. The only surviving piece is the lower half of one of the statues, rediscovered in the 19th century and now in the grounds of [[Lincoln Castle]].<ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 65–67.</ref>

===Grantham===
[[File:Eleanor Cross memorial plaque, Grantham.JPG|thumb|upright|2015 plaque in Grantham]]
<small>({{Coord|52|54|37|N|00|38|25|W|region:GB}})</small><br/>
Eleanor's bier spent the night of 4 December 1290 in [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]].<ref name="pow194">Powrie 1990, p. 194.</ref><ref name="cock345">Cockerill 2014, p. 345.</ref> The master mason for the cross here is not known: it was probably constructed in 1294 or 1295. It stood at the upper end of the High Street. It was pulled down during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], but in February 1647 Grantham Corporation ordered that any stones that could be traced should be recovered for public use. No part is known to survive, but it is conceivable that the substantial steps of the standing Market Cross comprise stones that originally belonged to the Eleanor Cross. A letter from the 18th-century antiquary [[William Stukeley]] (now untraceable) is alleged to have stated that he had one of the lions from Eleanor's coats of arms in his garden.<ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 80–81.</ref>

A modern relief stone plaque to Eleanor was installed at the [[Grantham Guildhall]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plaque harking back to Queen Eleanor memorial cross to be unveiled at Grantham's Guildhall |newspaper=Grantham Journal |date=15 August 2015 |url=https://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/plaque-harking-back-to-queen-eleanor-memorial-cross-to-be-unveiled-at-grantham-s-guildhall-1-6905332/ |access-date=6 June 2019 }}</ref>

===Stamford===
<small>({{Coord|52|39|22|N|00|29|37|W|region:GB}})</small><br/>
Eleanor's bier spent the night of 5 December 1290, and possibly also that of 6 December, in [[Stamford, Lincolnshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The master mason for the cross here is not known: it was probably constructed in 1294 or 1295. There is conflicting evidence about its precise location, but it is now generally agreed that it stood just outside the town on the [[Great North Road (Great Britain)|Great North Road]] (modern Casterton Road, the B1081), in what is today the Foxdale area.<ref name="smith">{{cite journal |first=John F. H. |last=Smith |title=A fragment of the Stamford Eleanor Cross |journal=Antiquaries Journal |volume=74 |year=1994 |pages=301–311 |doi=10.1017/S0003581500024471 |s2cid=162279263 }}</ref><ref name="lincstopast">{{cite web |url=https://www.lincstothepast.com/exhibitions/places/stamford-eleanor-cross/ |title=Stamford Eleanor Cross |work=Lincs To The Past |publisher=Lincolnshire Archives |access-date=14 June 2019 }}</ref>

The cross was in decay by the early 17th century, and in 1621 the town council ordered some restoration work, although it is unknown whether this was carried out.<ref>Powrie 1990, p. 83.</ref> [[Richard Symonds (diarist)|Richard Symonds]] reported in 1645: "In the hill before ye come into the towne, stands a lofty large crosse built by Edward III{{sic}}, in memory of Elianor his queene, whose corps rested there coming from the North."<ref>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Symonds |author-link=Richard Symonds (diarist) |editor-first=Charles Edward |editor-last=Long |editor-link=Charles Edward Long |title=Diary of the Marches of the Royal Army during the Great Civil War |series=[[Camden Society]] |publisher=Camden Society |location=Westminster |year=1859 |page=[https://archive.org/details/diarymarchesroy00longgoog/page/n263 230] |url=https://archive.org/details/diarymarchesroy00longgoog }}</ref> In 1646 Richard Butcher, the Town Clerk, described it as "so defaced, that only the Ruins appeare to my eye".<ref>Galloway 1914, p. 69.</ref><ref name="smith"/><ref name="lincstopast"/> It had probably been destroyed by 1659, and certainly by the early 18th century.<ref name="smith"/><ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 82–84.</ref>

In 1745, [[William Stukeley]] attempted to excavate the remains of the cross, and succeeded in finding its hexagonal base<ref>Stukeley notes the base in different places as both hexagonal and octagonal (see Smith 1994, p. 311, n. 10); but his ground plan at Bodleian Library, MS Eng. misc. e. 126, fol. 18, confirms that what he found was hexagonal.</ref> and recovering several fragments of the superstructure. His sketch of the top portion, which seems to have stylistically resembled the Geddington Cross, is found in his diaries in the [[Bodleian Library]], Oxford.<ref name="smith"/><ref>Cockerill 2014, pp. 355, 367, plate 46.</ref><ref name="lincstopast"/> A single small fragment from among Stukeley's finds, a carved [[Purbeck marble]] rose, was rediscovered in about 1976, and identified as part of the cross in 1993.<ref name="smith"/><ref name="lincstopast"/> Following the closure of [[Stamford Museum]] in 2011, this fragment is now displayed in the Discover Stamford area at the town's library.

A modern monument was erected in Stamford in 2009 in commemoration of Eleanor: see [[#Replicas and imitations|Replicas and imitations]] below.

===Geddington===
[[File:Star Inn and Eleanor Cross, Geddington.jpg|thumb|upright|The Geddington cross]]
<small>({{Coord|52|26|15|N|00|41|07|W|region:GB}})</small><br/>
Eleanor's bier spent the night of either 6 or 7 December 1290, or possibly both, in [[Geddington]], [[Northamptonshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The master mason for the cross here is not known: it was probably constructed in 1294 or 1295. It was recorded by [[William Camden]] in 1607;<ref>{{cite book |first=William |last=Camden |author-link=William Camden |title=Britannia |location=London |year=1607 |page=377 |url=http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#norts11 }}</ref> and still stands in the centre of the village, the best-preserved of the three survivors.<ref>Powrie 1990, 105–6.</ref> It is unique among the three in having a triangular plan, and a taller and more slender profile with a lower tier entirely covered with rosette [[diapering]], instead of the arch-and-gable motif with tracery which appears on both the others; and canopied statues surmounted by a slender hexagonal pinnacle.<ref name="nhleGed">{{NHLE |num=1286992 |desc=Queen Eleanor's Cross |grade=I |access-date=20 April 2019 }}</ref> It is possible that the other northern crosses (Lincoln, Grantham and Stamford) were in a similar relatively simple style; and that this reflects either the need to cut back expenditure in the latter stages of the project for financial reasons,<ref>Liversidge 1989, p. 100.</ref> or a decision taken at the planning stage to make the crosses progressively larger and more ornate as the sequence proceeded south.<ref name="Cockerill 2014, p. 357"/>

An engraving of the Geddington cross (drawn by [[Jacob Schnebbelie]] and engraved by [[James Basire]]) was published by the [[Society of Antiquaries of London|Society of Antiquaries]] in its ''[[Vetusta Monumenta]]'' series in 1791.<ref>{{cite book |title=Vetusta Monumenta |volume=3 |page=14 |year=1791 |url=https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A3690#page/100/mode/2up }}</ref><ref name="A&B362">Alexander and Binski 1987, p. 362.</ref> It was "discreetly" restored in 1892.<ref name="nhleGed"/>

===Hardingstone, Northampton===
{{Redirect|William of Ireland|the king of Ireland from 1689 to 1702|William III of England}}
[[File:QueenEleanorCross.JPG|thumb|upright|The Hardingstone cross]]
<small>({{Coord|52|13|02|N|00|53|50|W|region:GB}})</small><br/>
Eleanor's bier spent the night of 8 December 1290, and perhaps also that of 7 December, at [[Hardingstone]], on the outskirts of [[Northampton]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The [[Eleanor Cross, Hardingstone|cross]] here was constructed between 1291 and 1292 by John of Battle, at a total recorded cost of over £100.<ref name="colv483"/> William of Ireland and Ralph of Chichester carved the statues.<ref>Galloway 1914, pp. 72–73.</ref><ref name="pow124_6">Powrie 1990, pp. 124–26.</ref> A causeway leading from the town to the cross was constructed by Robert son of Henry.<ref name="hun183">Hunter 1842, p. 183.</ref> The cross is still standing, close to [[Delapré Abbey]], on the side of the [[A508 road|A508]] leading out of Northampton, and just north of the junction with the [[A45 road|A45]]. The King stayed nearby at [[Northampton Castle]].

The monument is octagonal in shape and set on steps; the present steps are replacements. It is built in three tiers, and originally had a crowning terminal, presumably a cross.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Nikolaus |last1=Pevsner |author1-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |first2=Bridget |last2=Cherry |author2-link=Bridget Cherry |title=Northamptonshire |series=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides|Buildings of England]] |year=2002 |publisher=Penguin |location=Harmondsworth |edition=2nd |isbn=0-300-09632-1 |pages=353–54 }}</ref> The terminal appears to have gone by 1460: there is mention of a "headless cross" at the site from which [[Thomas Bourchier (bishop)|Thomas Bourchier]], Archbishop of Canterbury, watched [[Margaret of Anjou]]'s flight following the [[Battle of Northampton (1460)|Battle of Northampton]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=William |editor-last=Page |editor-link=William Page (historian) |chapter=The Borough of Northampton |title=A History of the County of Northampton |location=London |year=1930 |volume=3 |page=3 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/northants/vol3/pp1-26 }}</ref> The monument was restored in 1713, to mark the [[Peace of Utrecht]] and the end of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], and this work included the fitting of a new terminal in the form of a [[Maltese cross]].<ref>Lovell 1892, pp. 27–28.</ref><ref>Warrington 2018, pp. 110–12.</ref> Further repairs were undertaken in 1762.<ref>Galloway 1914, p. 72.</ref> At a later restoration in 1840, under the direction of [[Edward Blore]], the Maltese cross was replaced by the picturesque broken shaft which is seen today.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Salzman |editor-first1=L. F. |editor-link=Louis Francis Salzman |chapter=Hardingstone |title=A History of the County of Northampton |location=London |year=1937 |volume=4 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/northants/vol4/pp252-259 |page=253 }}</ref> Later, less intrusive restorations were undertaken in 1877 and 1986.<ref name="pow124_6"/><ref>{{NHLE |num=1039797 |desc=The Eleanor Cross |grade=I |access-date=11 June 2019 }}</ref> Further restoration work was completed in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-50438581|title=Eleanor Cross: Conservation of Northampton monument complete|date=15 November 2019|website=BBC News|access-date=16 November 2019}}</ref>

The bottom tier of the monument has carvings of open books. These probably included painted inscriptions of Eleanor's biography and of prayers for her soul to be said by viewers, now lost.

[[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], in the early 1540s, recorded it as "a right goodly crosse, caullid, as I remembre, the Quenes Crosse", although he seems to have associated it with the 1460 Battle of Northampton.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Toulmin Smith |editor-first=Lucy |title=The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535–1543 |location=London |publisher=George Bell and Sons |year=1907 |volume=1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/itineraryjohnle02lelagoog/page/n64 8] |url=https://archive.org/details/itineraryjohnle02lelagoog }}</ref> It is also referred to by [[Daniel Defoe]] in his ''[[A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain|Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain]]'', in reporting the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675: "... a townsman being at Queen's Cross upon a hill on the south side of the town, about two miles ({{convert|2|mi|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) off, saw the fire at one end of the town then newly begun, and that before he could get to the town it was burning at the remotest end, opposite where he first saw it."

[[Celia Fiennes]] in 1697 describes it as "a Cross, a mile off the town call'd High-Cross – it stands just in the middle of England – its all stone 12 stepps which runs round it, above that is the stone carv'd finely and there are 4 large Nitches about the middle, in each is the statue of some queen at length which encompasses it with other carvings as garnish, and so it rises less and less to the top like a tower or Piramidy."<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Christopher |editor-last=Morris |editor-link=Christopher Morris (historian) |title=The Journeys of Celia Fiennes |location=London |publisher=Cresset Press |edition=2nd |year=1949 |pages=118–19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Celia |last=Fiennes |author-link=Celia Fiennes |title=1697 Tour: Coventry to London |work=A Vision of Britain through Time |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/Fiennes/16 |access-date=6 June 2019 }}</ref>

An engraving of the Hardingstone cross (drawn by [[Jacob Schnebbelie]] and engraved by [[James Basire]]) was published by the [[Society of Antiquaries of London|Society of Antiquaries]] in its ''[[Vetusta Monumenta]]'' series in 1791.<ref>{{cite book |title=Vetusta Monumenta |volume=3 |page=12 |year=1791 |url=https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A3690#page/92/mode/2up }}</ref><ref name="A&B362"/>

===Stony Stratford===
[[File:Eleanor Cross Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 569465.jpg|thumb|upright|Plaque in Stony Stratford]]
<small>(plaque at {{Coord|52|03|32|N|00|51|24|W|region:GB}})</small>

Eleanor's bier spent the night of 9 December 1290 at [[Stony Stratford]], [[Buckinghamshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The cross here was built between 1291 and 1293 by John of Battle at a total recorded cost of over £100.<ref name="colv483"/> The supplier of the statues is uncertain, but some smaller carvings were provided by Ralph of Chichester.<ref name="hun183"/> The cross stood at the lower end of the town, towards the [[River Great Ouse|River Ouse]], on [[Watling Street]] (now the High Street), although its exact location is debated. It is said to have been of a tall elegant design (perhaps similar to that at Geddington). It was described by [[William Camden]] in 1607 as ''minus elegantem'' ("none of the fairest"), suggesting that it was by this date in a state of decay.<ref>{{cite book |first=William |last=Camden |author-link=William Camden |title=Britannia |location=London |year=1607 |page=280 |url=http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/buckseng.html#bucks9 }}</ref> It is said to have been demolished in about 1643. In 1735, William Hartley, a man of nearly 80, could remember only the base still standing.<ref name="gall73">Galloway 1914, p. 73.</ref><ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 129–30.</ref> Any trace has now vanished.

The cross is commemorated by a brass plaque on the wall of 157 High Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/mkm/stonystratford/docs/eleanor.html |title=Stony Stratford: Queen Eleanor's Cross |publisher=Milton Keynes Heritage Association |access-date=12 June 2019 }}</ref>

===Woburn===
<small>(approximately at {{Coord|51|59|20|N|00|37|10|W|region:GB}})</small>

Eleanor's bier spent the night of 10 December 1290 at [[Woburn, Bedfordshire|Woburn]], [[Bedfordshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> Work on the cross here started in 1292, later than some of the others, and was completed in the spring of 1293. It was built by John of Battle, at a total recorded cost of over £100.<ref name="colv483"/> As at Stony Stratford, the supplier of the statues is uncertain, but some of the carvings were provided by Ralph of Chichester.<ref name="hun183"/><ref name="gall73"/><ref>Powrie 1990, p. 130.</ref> No part of the cross survives. Its precise location, and its fate, are unknown.

===Dunstable===
<small>({{Coord|51|53|10|N|00|31|16|W|region:GB}})</small>

Eleanor's bier spent the night of 11 December 1290 at [[Dunstable]], [[Bedfordshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> It rested first in the market place, before being carried into [[Dunstable Priory]] church, where the canons prayed in an overnight [[vigil]].<ref>Cockerill 2014, p. 347.</ref> The cross was built between 1291 and 1293 by John of Battle at a total recorded cost of over £100.<ref name="colv483"/> Some of the sculpture was supplied by Ralph of Chichester.<ref name="hun184">Hunter 1842, p. 184.</ref><ref name="gall73"/> It is thought to have been located in the middle of the town, probably in the market place, and was reported by [[William Camden]] as still standing in 1586.<ref>{{cite book |first=William |last=Camden |author-link=William Camden |title=Britannia |location=London |year=1607 |orig-year=1586 |page=286 |url=http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/buckseng.html#beds6 }}</ref> It is said to have been demolished in 1643 by troops under the [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]].<ref>Lovell 1892, p. 32.</ref> No part survives, although some of the foundations are reported to have been discovered during roadworks at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>Galloway 1914, pp. 73–74.</ref><ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 135–36.</ref>

The Eleanor's Cross Shopping Precinct in High Street North contains a modern statue of Eleanor, erected in 1985.<ref>[http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/dunstable_digitisation_history_eleanor_cross.htm Dunstable cross] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060715162236/http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/dunstable_digitisation_history_eleanor_cross.htm |date=15 July 2006 }} on the Bedfordshire website.]</ref>

===St Albans===
[[File:Site of Eleanor Cross (St Albans).jpg|thumb|Plaque on the [[Clock Tower, St Albans]]]]
<small>({{Coord|51|45|04|N|00|20|26|W|region:GB}})</small>

Eleanor's bier spent the night of 12 December 1290 at [[St Albans]], [[Hertfordshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The cross here was built between 1291 and 1293 by John of Battle at a total recorded cost of over £100,<ref name="colv483"/> with some of the sculpture supplied by Ralph of Chichester.<ref name="pow141">Powrie 1990, p. 141.</ref><ref name="hun184"/><ref name="gall74">Galloway 1914, p. 74.</ref> It was erected at the south end of the Market Place, and for many years stood in front of the fifteenth-century [[Clock Tower, St Albans|Clock Tower]] in the High Street, opposite the Waxhouse Gateway entrance to the [[St Albans Cathedral|Abbey]].

In 1596, it was described as "verie stately".<ref name="gall74"/> However, having fallen into decay, and having probably been further damaged during the Civil War, it was eventually demolished in 1701–02, to be replaced by a [[market cross]]. This was demolished in turn in 1810, although the town pump it contained survived a little longer. A [[drinking fountain]] was erected on the site by philanthropist Isabella Worley in 1874: this was relocated to Victoria Square nearby in the late 20th century.<ref name="pow141"/><ref>{{cite journal |first=F. G. |last=Kitton |title=The Clock Tower, St Albans: its origin and history |journal=St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Transactions |series=n.s. |volume=1 |year=1901 |pages=298–319 (308) |url=https://www.stalbanshistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Clock-Tower-St-Albans-1901.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-first=William |editor-last=Page |editor-link=William Page (historian) |chapter=The City of St Albans: Introduction |title=A History of the County of Hertford |location=London |year=1908 |volume=2 |page=470 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol2/pp469-477 }}</ref>

A late 19th-century ceramic plaque on the Clock Tower commemorates the Eleanor cross.

===Waltham (now Waltham Cross)===
[[File:Waltham Cross.JPG|thumb|The Waltham cross]]
<small>({{Coord|51|41|09|N|00|01|59|W|region:GB}})</small><br/>
Eleanor's bier spent the night of 13 December 1290 in the parish of [[Cheshunt]], [[Hertfordshire]].<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The cross here was built in about 1291 by Roger of Crundale and Nicholas Dymenge at a total recorded cost of over £110.<ref name="colv483"/> It probably became known as ''Waltham Cross'' because it stood at the way to [[Waltham Abbey]], across the [[River Lea]] in Essex, which was clearly visible from its site. The sculpture was by [[Alexander of Abingdon]], with some items supplied by Robert of Corfe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/stories/sadrei_eleanorcross.html |title=Image of the cross at Waltham. |access-date=17 May 2006 |archive-date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620152052/http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/stories/sadrei_eleanorcross.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="hun184"/><ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 148–49.</ref> The cross was located outside the village of Waltham, but as the village grew into a town in the 17th and 18th centuries, it began to suffer damage from passing traffic. In 1721, at the instigation of [[William Stukeley]] and at the expense of the [[Society of Antiquaries of London|Society of Antiquaries]], two oak [[bollard]]s were erected "to secure Waltham Cross from injury by carriages".<ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 149–50.</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nikolaus |last=Boulting |chapter=The law's delays: conservationist legislation in the British Isles |editor-first=Jane |editor-last=Fawcett |title=The Future of the Past: attitudes to conservation, 1174–1974 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |place=London |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-8230-7184-5 |page=13 }}</ref> The bollards were subsequently removed by the [[Turnpike trusts|turnpike commissioners]], and in 1757 Stukeley arranged for a protective brick plinth to be erected instead, at the expense of [[John Monson, 2nd Baron Monson|Lord Monson]].<ref name="A&B363">Alexander and Binski 1987, p. 363.</ref><ref>Galloway 1914, p. 75.</ref> The cross is still standing, but has been restored on several occasions, in [[William Barnard Clarke#Architect|1832–1834]], 1885–1892, 1950–1953, and 1989–90.<ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 151–52.</ref><ref>{{NHLE |num=1173222 |desc=Eleanor Cross |grade=I |access-date=11 June 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{NHLE |num=1017471 |desc=Eleanor Cross, Waltham Cross |access-date=11 June 2019 }}</ref>

The Society of Antiquaries published an engraving of the cross by [[George Vertue]] from a drawing by Stukeley in its ''[[Vetusta Monumenta]]'' series in 1721; and another, engraved by [[James Basire]] from a drawing by [[Jacob Schnebbelie]], in the same series in 1791.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plate 1.7: Engraving of Waltham Cross |work=Vetusta Monumenta: Ancient Monuments: A Digital Edition |volume=1 |year=1721 |url=https://scalar.missouri.edu/vm/vol1plate7-waltham-cross |access-date=4 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Vetusta Monumenta |volume=3 |page=16 |year=1791 |url=https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A3690#page/108/mode/2up }}</ref><ref name="A&B363"/>

The original statues of Eleanor, which were extremely weathered, were replaced by replicas at the 1950s restoration.<ref>[http://www.lowewood.com/tag/eleanor-cross#post-271] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002090538/http://www.lowewood.com/tag/eleanor-cross#post-271|date=2 October 2011}}</ref> The originals were kept for some years at Cheshunt Public Library; but they were removed, possibly in the 1980s, and are now held by the [[Victoria & Albert Museum]].<ref name="A&B363"/> A photograph formerly on the Lowewood Museum website<ref>[http://www.lowewood.com/tag/eleanor-cross#attachment_273] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002090538/http://www.lowewood.com/tag/eleanor-cross#attachment_273|date=2 October 2011}}</ref> shows one of the original statues in front of a staircase at the library.

===Westcheap (now Cheapside)===
[[File:ONL (1887) 1.313 - Cheapside Cross, as it appeared in 1547.jpg|thumb|The coronation procession of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] passing the Cheapside cross in 1547: a 19th-century wood engraving based on a lost mural at [[Cowdray House]], Sussex]]
<small>({{Coord|51|30|51|N|00|05|41|W|region:GB}})</small>

Eleanor's bier reached the [[City of London]] on 14 December 1290, and a site for the cross was selected in Westcheap (now [[Cheapside]]).<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> Her heart was buried in the [[Blackfriars, London|Blackfriars]] priory on 19 December.<ref name="cock344"/> The Cheapside cross was built from 1291 onwards by Michael of Canterbury at a total recorded cost of £226 13s. 4d.<ref name="colv483"/><ref name ="pow165">Powrie 1990, p. 165.</ref>

Under a licence granted by [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] in 1441, the cross was extensively restored or rebuilt in 1484–86.<ref>Powrie 1990, p. 166.</ref> It was subsequently regilded several times in the 16th century on the occasion of coronations and royal visits to the City.<ref name="pow165-6">Powrie 1990, pp. 165–66.</ref><ref name="stow">{{cite book |first=John |last=Stow |editor-first=Charles Lethbridge |editor-last=Kingsford |editor-link=Charles Lethbridge Kingsford |title=A Survey of London |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1908 |orig-year=1603 |volume=1 |pages=265–67 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/survey-of-london-stow/1603/pp258-276 }}</ref> [[John Stow]] included a detailed account of the cross and its history in his ''Survay of London'' of 1598, updating it in 1603.<ref name="stow"/>

Although a number of images of the cross and its eventual destruction are known, these all postdate its various refurbishments, and so provide no certain guide to its original appearance.<ref name="pow165"/> However, the chronicler [[Walter of Guisborough]] refers to this and Charing Cross as being fashioned of "marble"; and it is likely that it was similar to the Hardingstone and Waltham Crosses, but even more ornate and boasting some [[Purbeck marble]] facings.<ref name="pow165"/><ref>Cockerill 2014, p. 356.</ref>

The cross came to be regarded as something of a public hazard, both as a traffic obstruction and because of concerns about fragments of stone falling off; while in the post-[[English Reformation|Reformation]] period some of its [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] imagery aroused resentment, and elements were defaced in 1581, 1599 and 1600–01.<ref name="pow165-6"/><ref name="stow"/><ref>Galloway 1914, pp. 76–77.</ref> Matters came to a head during the years leading up to the Civil War. To puritanical reformers, it was identified with [[Dagon]], the ancient god of the [[Philistines]], and was seen as the embodiment of royal and Catholic tradition. At least one riot was fought in its shadow, as opponents of the cross descended upon it to pull it down, and supporters rallied to stop them. After [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] had fled London to raise an army, the destruction of the cross was almost the first order of business for the Parliamentary Committee for the Demolition of Monuments of Superstition and Idolatry, led by [[Robert Harley (1579–1656)|Sir Robert Harley]], and it was demolished on 2 May 1643.<ref>Cockerill 2014, p. 368.</ref><ref>Galloway 1914, p. 77.</ref> The downfall of the Cheapside Cross is an important episode of [[iconoclasm]] in English history.

Two Purbeck marble fragments of the original cross, displaying shields bearing the [[Royal Arms of England|royal arms of England]] and of [[Heraldry of Castile#Quartering with the arms of León|Castile and León]], were recovered in 1838 during reconstruction of the sewer in Cheapside. They are now held by the [[Museum of London]].<ref>Alexander and Binski 1987, p. 364.</ref>

=== Charing (now Charing Cross) ===
[[File:Old Charing Cross.jpg|thumb|upright|The cross at [[Charing Cross]], Westminster]]
<small>({{Coord|51|30|26|N|00|07|39|W|region:GB}})</small>
Eleanor's bier spent the final night of its journey, 16 December 1290, in the [[Royal Mews]] at Charing, [[Westminster]], a few hundred yards north of Westminster Abbey.<ref name="pow194"/><ref name="cock345"/> The area subsequently became known as [[Charing Cross]]. The cross here was the most expensive of the twelve, built of [[Purbeck marble]] from 1291 onwards by Richard of Crundale, the senior royal mason, with the sculptures supplied by [[Alexander of Abingdon]], and some items by Ralph de Chichester. Richard died in the autumn of 1293, and the work was completed by Roger of Crundale, probably his brother. The total recorded cost was over £700.<ref name="colv483"/><ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 177–78.</ref><ref>Hunter 1842, pp. 184–85.</ref><ref>Galloway 1914, pp. 77–78.</ref>

[[File:John Norden's Map of Westminster - Charing Cross.jpg|thumb|left|Charing Cross shown on [[John Norden]]'s map of [[Westminster]], 1593. North-west is to the top.]]
The cross stood outside the Royal Mews, at the top of what is now [[Whitehall]], and on the south side of what is now [[Trafalgar Square]]. [[John Norden]] in about 1590 described it as the "most stately" of the series, but by this date so "defaced by antiquity" as to have become "an old weather-beaten monument".<ref>Galloway 1914, p. 78.</ref> It was also noted by [[William Camden]] in 1607.<ref>{{cite book |first=William |last=Camden |author-link=William Camden |title=Britannia |location=London |year=1607 |page=311 |url=http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/midlesexeng.htm#mids20 }}</ref>

It was ordered to be taken down by Parliament in 1643, and was eventually demolished in 1647.<ref>Powrie 1990, pp. 177–79.</ref><ref>Galloway 1914, p. 79.</ref> Following the demolition, a contemporary ballad ran:<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Mackay |editor-first=Charles |chapter=The lawyers' lamentation for the loss of Charing-Cross |title=The Cavalier Songs and Ballads of England from 1642 to 1684 |location=London |publisher=Griffin Bohn & Co. |year=1863 |page=55 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t21c1zb1c&view=1up&seq=77 }}</ref>
<blockquote><poem>Undone! undone! the lawyers cry,
They ramble up and down;
We know not the way to ''Westminster''
Now ''Charing-Cross'' is down.</poem></blockquote>

After the [[Restoration (1660)|Restoration of Charles II]], an [[Equestrian statue of Charles I, Charing Cross|equestrian statue of Charles I]] by [[Hubert Le Sueur]] was erected on the site of the cross in 1675, and this still stands. The location is still known as Charing Cross, and since the early 19th century this point has been regarded as the [[Charing Cross#Official use as central point|official centre of London]], in legislation and when measuring distances from London.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/08/15/charingcross_feature.shtml |title=Where is the centre of London? |publisher=BBC |date=24 September 2014 |access-date=23 June 2019 }}</ref>

A new Eleanor cross was erected in 1865 outside [[Charing Cross railway station]], several hundred yards from the original site: see [[#Replicas and imitations|Replicas and imitations]] below.

[[File:David Gentleman Charing Cross 1.jpg|thumb|Detail of [[David Gentleman]]'s mural at [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross underground station]]]]
A {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=off|adj=mid|-long}} mural by [[David Gentleman]] on the platform walls of [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross underground station]], commissioned by [[London Transport Executive (GLC)|London Transport]] in 1978, depicts, in the form of [[wood engraving]]s, the story of the building of the medieval cross by stonemasons and sculptors.<ref>Gentleman 1979.</ref>

[[Folk etymology]] holds that the name Charing derives from French {{lang|fr|chère reine}} (dear queen);<ref>{{cite web|title=The Eleanor Crosses |url=http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/medieval/People/147014/ |work=Eleanor of Castille|publisher=[[Museum of London]]|access-date=12 November 2013}}</ref> but the name "Charing" for the area in fact pre-dates Eleanor's death and probably comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ''{{lang|ang|ċerring}}'', meaning a bend, as it stands on the outside of a sharp bend in the River Thames (compare [[Charing]] in Kent).<ref>{{cite book |first1=J. E. B. |last1=Gover |first2=Allen |last2=Mawer |first3=F. M. |last3=Stenton |author3-link=Frank Stenton |title=The Place-Names of Middlesex apart from the City of London |series=[[English Place-Name Society]] |volume=18 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1942 |pages=167 |quote=The old forms show that the traditional association of the name with Fr ''chére reine'', with reference to Queen Eleanor, has no justification. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9022531?query=charing%20cross&ct= |title=Charing Cross – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=library.eb.co.uk |access-date=7 July 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Helen |last=Bebbington |title=London Street Names |url=https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=Batsford |year=1972 |isbn=9780713401400 |page=[https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb/page/81 81] }}</ref>

==Replicas and imitations==
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries several replica Eleanor crosses, or monuments more loosely inspired by them, were erected.
*The cross at [[Ilam, Staffordshire|Ilam]], Staffordshire, was built in 1840 by Jesse Watts-Russell of [[Ilam Hall]] to commemorate his wife, Mary.<ref>[http://www.thornber.net/staffs/html/ilam.html Ilam photograph]</ref>
*The [[Martyrs' Memorial, Oxford|Martyrs' Memorial]] in [[Oxford]], commemorating the 16th-century [[Oxford Martyrs]], was erected in 1841–1843 to the designs of [[George Gilbert Scott]].
*The [[Glastonbury Market Cross]], Somerset, was erected in 1846 to the designs of [[Benjamin Ferrey]].
*[[Banbury Cross]], Oxfordshire, was erected in 1859 to commemorate the marriage of [[Victoria, Princess Royal]] to [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Prince Frederick of Prussia]]: it was designed by [[John Gibbs (architect)|John Gibbs]].
*The [[Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross]] at [[Charing Cross]] in London was erected in 1865 outside [[Charing Cross railway station]] on the [[Strand, London|Strand]], a few hundred yards to the east of the site of the medieval cross. It does not pretend to be a faithful copy of the original, being larger and more ornate. It stands {{convert|70|ft|m|abbr=on}} high and was commissioned by the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]] Company for their newly opened Charing Cross Hotel. The cross was designed by the hotel architect, [[Edward Middleton Barry|E. M. Barry]], who is also known for his work on [[Covent Garden]]. It was constructed by [[Thomas Earp (sculptor)|Thomas Earp]] of Lambeth from [[Portland stone]], [[Mansfield]] stone (a fine sandstone) and [[Aberdeen granite]].<ref>[http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/7219.aspx "Charing Cross"]. Network Rail. Retrieved 22 January 2011.</ref> It was restored to a substantial extent in 2009–10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10911029|title=Renovated Eleanor's Cross in Charing Cross unveiled|date=9 August 2010|work=News London|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 August 2010}}</ref>
*The Ellesmere Memorial at [[Walkden]], Lancashire, was erected in 1868 to the designs of [[Thomas Graham Jackson|T. G. Jackson]] to commemorate Harriet (d. 1866), wife of the [[Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere|1st Earl of Ellesmere]]. It originally stood at a road junction, but was moved into the churchyard in 1968.
*The [[Albert Memorial]], in [[Kensington Gardens]], London, commissioned by [[Queen Victoria]] in memory of her husband [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], and completed in 1872. It is a far larger structure than any of the Eleanor crosses, but takes inspiration from them. Its architect, Sir [[George Gilbert Scott|Gilbert Scott]], claimed to have "adopt[ed] in my design the style at once most congenial with my own feelings, and that of the most touching monuments ever erected in this country to a Royal Consort – the exquisite 'Eleanor Crosses'".<ref>{{cite book |first=George Gilbert |last=Scott |author-link=George Gilbert Scott |title=The National Memorial to His Royal Highness the Prince Consort |location=London |publisher=John Murray |year=1873 |pages=16, 35–36}}</ref>
* The Loudoun Monument, [[Ashby-de-la-Zouch]], Leicestershire, was designed by Sir [[George Gilbert Scott|Gilbert Scott]] and erected in 1879 to commemorate [[Edith Rawdon-Hastings, 10th Countess of Loudoun]] (d. 1874), wife of [[Baron Donington|Charles Frederick Abney-Hastings]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1073662 |desc=Loudoun Monument |grade=II* |access-date=18 June 2020 }}</ref>
*The [[Sledmere Cross]] was erected in [[Sledmere]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], in 1896–8, commissioned by [[Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet|Sir Tatton Sykes]] and designed by [[Temple Lushington Moore]]. Sir Tatton's son, [[Mark Sykes|Sir Mark Sykes]], later added [[Monumental brass|engraved brasses]] to turn it into a war memorial.
*The [[Queen Victoria Monument, Birkenhead]], [[Metropolitan Borough of Wirral|Wirral]], Merseyside, designed by [[Edmund Kirby]], was unveiled in 1905.
*A modern monument inspired by (but not directly modelled on) the lost medieval cross was erected in Stamford in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eleanor Cross, 2009, Stamford, U.K. |website=www.wolfgangbuttress.com |url=http://www.wolfgangbuttress.com/eleanor-cross-detail |access-date=14 June 2009 }}</ref> It was designed by [[Wolfgang Buttress]] and sponsored by the [[Smith of Derby Group]]; and it stands in Sheepmarket, rather than at the original location. It takes the form of a tall stone and bronze spike: the carved detail is based on the single surviving fragment of the medieval cross.  The original location is marked with a limestone block bearing the names and distances to other towns and cities.

===Gallery===
<gallery widths="180px" heights="200px">
Ilam.jpg|[[Ilam, Staffordshire|Ilam]] Cross, 1840
Martyrs' Memorial, Oxford, UK - 20130709.JPG|[[Martyrs' Memorial, Oxford]], 1841
Glastonbury. Market Cross 1.jpg|[[Glastonbury Market Cross]], 1846
Banbury Cross 1.JPG|[[Banbury Cross]], 1859
Eleanor Cross, Strand (geograph 5380147).jpg|[[Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross|Charing Cross]], London, 1865
Ellesmere Memorial, Walkden.jpg|Ellesmere Memorial, [[Walkden]], 1868
Albert Memorial, London - May 2008.jpg|[[Albert Memorial]], London, 1872
Loudon Monument.jpg|[[Edith Rawdon-Hastings, 10th Countess of Loudoun|Loudoun Memorial]], [[Ashby-de-la-Zouch]], 1879
War Memorial, Sledmere.JPG|[[Sledmere Cross]], 1896
Monument to Queen Victoria, Hamilton Square, Birkenhead 2.JPG|[[Queen Victoria Monument, Birkenhead]], 1905
Stamford Eleanor cross modern sculpture.JPG|The modern sculpture to Eleanor in [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]], 2009
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |editor1-first=Jonathan |editor1-last=Alexander |editor2-first=Paul |editor2-last=Binski |chapter=The Eleanor crosses |title=Age of Chivalry: art in Plantagenet England, 1200–1400 |location=London |publisher=Royal Academy of Arts |year=1987 |pages=361–66 |ol=OL46862874M|isbn=9780297791904}}
* {{cite book|first=Paul |last=Binski |title=Medieval Death: Ritual and Representation |location=London |publisher=British Museum Press |date=1996}}
*{{cite book |editor1-first=Beriah |editor1-last=Botfield |editor1-link=Beriah Botfield |editor2-first=T. Hudson |editor2-last=Turner |chapter=Liberationes factis per executores Dominae Alianorae consortis Edwardi Regis Angliae Primi |title=Manners and Household Expenses of England in the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Centuries |publisher=[[Roxburghe Club]] |location=London |year=1841 |pages=lvii–lxxxiv, 93–145 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027939820/page/n69 }} [An edition of the account rolls documenting payments for the construction of the crosses and monuments, 1291–94]
*{{cite book |last=Cockerill |first=Sara |title=Eleanor of Castile: the shadow queen |date=2014 |publisher=Amberley |location=Stroud |isbn=9781445635897 |pages=342–59 }}
*{{cite book |first=H. M. |last=Colvin |author-link=Howard Colvin |chapter=Royal tombs and monuments, 1066–1485 |editor-first=H. M. |editor-last=Colvin |title=The History of the King's Works |volume=1 |location=London |publisher=HMSO |year=1963 |pages=477–90 (479–85) }}
*{{cite book |title= Visions and ruins |chapter=Queen Eleanor and her crosses: Trauma and memory, medieval and modern |doi=10.7765/9781526125941.00007|author-first=Joshua |author-last=Davies |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester |date=2018 |isbn=9781526125934 }}
* {{cite journal |first=Joan |last=Evans |author-link=Joan Evans (art historian) |title=A prototype of the Eleanor crosses |journal=[[Burlington Magazine]] |volume=91 |year=1949 |pages=96–97 }}
*{{cite book |first=James |last=Galloway |title=Historical Sketches of Old Charing: The Hospital and Chapel of Saint Mary Roncevall: Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England, and the Monuments Erected in her Memory |location=London |publisher=John Bale, Sons & Danielsson |year=1914 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/b28991692/page/51 51]–82 |url=https://archive.org/details/b28991692 }}
*{{cite book |first=David |last=Gentleman |author-link=David Gentleman |title=A Cross for Queen Eleanor: the story of the building of the mediaeval Charing Cross, the subject of the decorations of the Northern Line platforms of the new Charing Cross Underground Station |location=London |publisher=London Transport |year=1979 |isbn=0-85329-101-2 }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Fuchs |editor1-first=Barbara |editor2-first=Emily |editor2-last=Weissbourd |title=Representing Imperial Rivalry in the Early Modern Mediterranean |publisher=University of Toronto Press |chapter=Copying "the Anti-Spaniard": Post-Armada Hispanophobia and English Renaissance Drama |date=2015 |first=Eric |last=Griffin |jstor=10.3138/j.ctt14bth82 |isbn=9781442649026 |ol= OL29255494M }}
*{{cite book |last=Griffin |first=Eric J. |title=English Renaissance Drama and the Specter of Spain: Ethnopoetics and Empire |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |date=2009 |jstor=j.ctt3fh8z6 |isbn=9780812241709 |ol= OL23081992M }}
*{{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Hastings |title=St Stephen's Chapel and its Place in the Development of Perpendicular Style in England |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1955 |pages=20–27 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Hillaby |first=Joe |date=1994 |title=The ritual-child-murder accusation: its dissemination and Harold of Gloucester |journal=Jewish Historical Studies |volume=34 |pages=69–109 |jstor=29779954 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hillaby |first1=Joe |last2=Hillaby |first2=Caroline |title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History |year=2013 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke |isbn=978-0-23027-816-5 }}
*{{cite journal |first=Joseph |last=Hunter |author-link=Joseph Hunter (antiquarian) |title=On the death of Eleanor of Castile, consort of King Edward the First, and the honours paid to her memory |journal=[[Archaeologia (London)|Archaeologia]] |volume=29 |year=1842 |pages=167–91 |doi=10.1017/S0261340900001983 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2249033 }}
*{{cite book |first=M. J. H. |last=Liversidge |chapter=Alexander of Abingdon |editor1-first=W. J. H. |editor1-last=Liversidge |editor2-first=M. J. H. |editor2-last=Liversidge |title=Abingdon Essays: Studies in Local History |location=Abingdon |year=1989 |pages=89–111 }}
*{{cite journal |first=Walter |last=Lovell |title=Queen Eleanor's Crosses |journal=[[The Archaeological Journal|Archaeological Journal]] |volume=49 |year=1892 |pages=17–43 |doi=10.1080/00665983.1892.10852513 |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-1132-1/dissemination/pdf/049/049_017_043.pdf }}
* {{Cite book|last=Morris|first=Marc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkMQSZBDX9wC|title=A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain|date=2009|publisher=Windmill Books|isbn=978-0-09-948175-1|language=en}}
*{{cite book |editor-first=David |editor-last=Parsons |title=Eleanor of Castile 1290–1990: essays to commemorate the 700th anniversary of her death |location=Stamford |publisher=Paul Watkins |year=1991 |isbn=1871615984 }}
*{{cite book |last=Parsons |first=John Carmi |title=Eleanor of Castile: queen and society in thirteenth-century England |location=Basingstoke |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0333619706 |year=1995 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Powrie |first1=Jean |title=Eleanor of Castile |location=Studley |publisher=Brewin Books |isbn=0947731792 |date=1990 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Stacey |editor1-last=Maddicott |editor1-first=J. R. |editor2-last=Pallister |editor2-first=D. M. |title=The Medieval State: Essays Presented to James Campbell |date=2001 |location=London|publisher=The Hambledon Press |pages=163–77 |chapter=Anti-Semitism and the Medieval English State|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/37075279}}
* {{cite book |author1=David Stocker |title=Medieval Art and Architecture at Lincoln Cathedral |date=1986 |isbn=978-0-907307-14-3 |pages=109–117 |chapter=The Shrine of Little St Hugh|publisher=British Archaeological Association }}
*{{cite book |first=Decca |last=Warrington |year=2018 |title=The Eleanor Crosses: the story of King Edward I's lost queen and her architectural legacy |publisher=Signal Books |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-909930-65-0 }}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |first=David |last=Crook |title=The last days of Eleanor of Castile: the death of a queen in Nottinghamshire, November 1290 |journal=Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire |volume=94 |year=1990 |pages=17–28 }}
*{{cite book |first=Lawrence |last=Stone |author-link=Lawrence Stone |title=Sculpture in Britain: the Middle Ages |url=https://archive.org/details/sculptureinbrita0000ston |url-access=registration |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin |year=1955 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sculptureinbrita0000ston/page/142 142–45] }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Eleanor crosses}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041023202422/http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/eleanor.htm A link to a short article with images describing the likely circumstances surrounding the transfer of Queen Eleanor's body to Westminster]
*{{cite web |url=http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/stories/sadrei_eleanorcross.html |first=Agnieszka |last=Sadraei |title=Eleanor's Crosses |work=Art & Architecture |publisher=[[Courtauld Institute of Art]] |access-date=14 June 2019 |archive-date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620152052/http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/stories/sadrei_eleanorcross.html |url-status=dead }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090402011144/http://paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/UK/Britain_South_and_West/Waltham/Waltham_Cross.htm Adrian Fletcher's Paradoxplace – Eleanor Cross Page]
*{{cite web |url=https://www.lincstothepast.com/exhibitions/places/stamford-eleanor-cross/ |title=Stamford Eleanor Cross |work=Lincs To The Past |publisher=Lincolnshire Archives |access-date=14 June 2019 }}
*{{cite journal|url=http://www.stamfordhistory.org.uk/publications/queen-eleanors-cross |title=Queen Eleanor's Cross |journal=The Stamford Historian |publisher=Stamford Survey Group |date=February 1980 |first1=Ken |last1=Coles |access-date=3 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219084259/http://www.stamfordhistory.org.uk/publications/queen-eleanors-cross |archive-date=19 February 2014 |df=dmy }}

{{Listed buildings in Hertfordshire|G1}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor Cross}}
[[Category:1925 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1295]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1290s]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in England]]
[[Category:Death customs]]
[[Category:Medieval European sculptures]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:British sculpture]]
[[Category:History of Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:History of Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:History of Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Monumental crosses in England]]
[[Category:Edward I of England]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Wayside crosses]]
[[Category:Stone crosses in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Lost works of art]]
[[Category:Royal monuments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Eleanor of Castile]]