h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There were 12 crosses in all. In addition to the ones mentioned there were crosses at Woburn,St.Albans and Waltham Cross (which still exists and was restored about 10 years ago). Also there is a copy of the original at Charing Cross railway station.

Hi again, Sorry for the late reply but I didn't see these postings as for some reason they don't come up on my main page. Anyway...
I knew about the one at Waltham cross but didn't mention it because it wasn't mentioned in my 'sources'. The other two I didn't know about though.
I'd be interested to read further on it if you can point me in the right direction, can you refer me to any books on the subject.?? If so thanks again and all the best A.M.

To Austin,
You may already know of this book, but there's a book called "In Memory of Eleanor" available at the town library in Waltham Cross. It has a lot of details about the Eleanor crosses. If you're interested I'll find out more about the book eg ISDN number.

Mark

Hi Mark, Yes I would be interested if you can come up with anything further. When I wrote this page I could only find a very limited amount of info in our local library. I had planned a rewrite of this page as it is a bit sparse so any other info is very welcome thanks. A.M.

Hi Austin,
Contrary to my posting 13 weeks ago the cross at Charing Cross station is not a copy of the original but more a memorial.It was built in 1865 by E.M.Barry. The original cross was situated where the statue of Charles I now stands and was destroyed after the Civil War(1647) as were some of the others it seems.Also if you want to know the exact locations of any of the crosses I have found out the Lincolnshire ones.
Cheers,
Eirik Bloodaxe

Hi AM - another one of those strange coincidences here - as usual our beloved C&W bought up your page and I spotted this entry. I grew up literally down the road from the Waltham Cross monument. I don't know how much you've found out about this one, but as far as I can recall, everything on it is original except for the three Eleanor statues. When I was a kid the originals used to reside in Cheshunt library. They were black with grime and the faces had eroded/corroded away - they used to give me the creeps actually. If memory serves they them spent a few years at Hertford museum and now reside at one of the London museums. At least they'll be looked after there. As you know, the monument itself was cleaned up rather well a few years back, but despite the council's best efforts it's still the home of a large pidgen community!

An even stranger coincidence - last week I was on holiday in Derbyshire. In a village called Ilam there is a replica Eleanor cross - probably about the last thing I expected to see in a village by Dovedale. All I managed to find out about it is that it is a fairly recent copy. Do you know anything about this one?

I always thought - well, since I knew anyway - that it was interesting that "Charing" of "Charing Cross" was a corruption of the words 'Chere Reine' (Dear Queen). Just thought I'd mention here for other colonials who might not know...

I can't find the original posting which stated where the nine crosses were sited, but the one in Northampton (which is original except for the missing top which was struck by lightning sometime after the war (does anyone know when and where the top is now?)) is not in Hardingstone, but Delapre.

Hi
I work at The Priory Centre in Lincoln, formally St Catherine's Church. Which sits on an old Gilbertine Priory site, which was where Queen Eleanor's body was taken and embalmed, The story of King Edward and his Queen is a beatiful one and the Lincoln Millenium Guild are in the process of building a replica cross that will once again sit on the Prioy site, if you would like more infomation about this project please phone the Priory Centre on 01522 579490 we are develping a web-site which should be finished soon please have a look. www.lincolnpriory.org
Regards Tracey

The only remaining Cross (minus its top) resides not in Northampton itself but in a village called Geddington in Northamptonshire.

And a beautiful 13th century monument it is too!

Hi. I recently visited the sites of the twelve Eleanor Crosses at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Delapre Park (Northampton), Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, Waltham Cross, Cheapside and Charing (Trafalgar Square). As mentioned in previous posts, crosses still stand at Geddington, Delapre Park and Waltham Cross, of which the former is perhaps closest to its original state. There are fragments of other crosses held close to the sites at Lincoln (Castle grounds), Stamford (Museum) and Cheapside (Museum of London). Commemorative plaques mark the sites at Stony Stratford, St Albans and Charing, whilst there is a modern memorial close to the Dunstable site.

Mark mentioned the booklet ‘In Memory of Eleanor’ in a previous post, which I also found very useful. I bought it from Lincoln Castle bookshop. It gives map references for each of the cross sites. However, I have since learnt these are by no means definitive - for instance, uncertainty remains concerning the sites at both Stamford and Grantham. Another book with info about the crosses, which may be of interest, is ‘Eleanor of Castile, 1290-1990: Essays to Commemorate the 700th Anniversary of her Death, 28 November 1290 edited by David Parsons.

Regards,

Nic