Dorset’s old stone crosses
Roger Guttridge visits the pick of the county’s ancient crosses, which suffered badly under Puritan rule
Published in April ’22
The base of Sturminster Newton’s market cross
ITS age and history are uncertain, its original purpose disputed, yet for all its mystery and unobtrusiveness, the Cross and Hand on Batcombe Down is regarded as the most important cross in Dorset. Although not a cross in the true sense, it has been a listed monument since 1951. It is among more than 60 crosses described by Alfred Pope in The Old Stone Crosses of Dorset (1906). He calls it an ‘exceedingly interesting and…
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