The Whissonsett Cross - St.Mary the Virgin, High Street, Whissonsett, Dereham, Norfolk. NR20 5AP - Stone Church Artefacts on Waymarking.com

This Parish Church, dedicated to St.Mary the Virgin, is Grade II* listed. It is of C14th Medieval date with later additions and heavily restored and repaired in 1873. Built of flint with ashlar dressings it has slate roofs and consists of a west tower, aisleless nave with south porch, and chancel with vestry and organ outshoot to the north.

In the nave on the west face of the wall southward from the chancel arch is a niche holding the head of an Anglo-Saxon cross and part of its shaft, all decorated with interlace decoration of the Stafford knot type. The cross has been broken at some time past and is now 65.2cm high with a shaft 27.5cm wide. The head is 43cm in diameter and the thickness varies between 13cm and 14cm. The front face shows a double-interlace design whilst the back side shows a single Staffordshire knot. The arms expand into a circular interlaced ring. It is made of a single piece of Barnack Rag Stone, also known as Upper Lincolnshire Oolitic Limestone. The cross was uncovered outside in the north part of the churchyard in 1902 when a new grave was being dug and is the only example of the interlaced wheel type cross in the county and may date from around AD920.

Approximate Age of Artefact: c.920 Relevant Website: Not listed

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