page_title: Eleanor Cross, Sledmere
section_title: Village cross
hierarchical_section_title: Eleanor Cross, Sledmere / Village cross
caption_attribution_description: English: Hardingstone Eleanor Cross. Following her death in Harby on 28th November 1290, Queen Eleanor’s funeral cortège stopped overnight at the nearby Delapre Abbey en-route to Westminster Abbey. King Edward I erected a memorial cross at each of the 12 overnight stops, only three survive, at Geddington, waltham and here at Hardingstone. The cross is much repaired and lost its top as early as 1460 but is still a marvellous example of late 13th century work. Of octagonal plan, it has the unique feature of an open book carved on four alternating sides of the lower tier.
context_page_description: A replica Eleanor Cross was erected in Sledmere, East Riding of Yorkshire, in 1896–98. The tall stone structure was constructed by the Sykes family of Sledmere. Engraved monumental brasses were added after the First World War, converting the cross into a war memorial.
context_section_description: The 60 ft (18 m) high cross was commissioned by Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet (1826–1913). His wealthy merchant family had moved to Sledmere in the early 18th century and resided at Sledmere House.  
  The cross was designed by the architect Temple Lushington Moore, as a village cross, closely modelled on the 13th-century Eleanor cross at Hardingstone, Northamptonshire, with two square tiers on two octagonal tiers, standing on a base with eight steps and a plinth that is inscribed with the words of the Lord's Prayer. It was built from limestone ashlars by the stonemasons Thompsons of Peterborough, with ornamental carving by John Barker of Kennington, and erected at the west side of the village, near the Church of St Mary, part of the Sykes Churches Trail.
  The first tier has blind tracery panels separated by pillars with pinnacles, standing on a moulded base, with sixteen carved heraldic shields, representing the arms of England, Kingston upon Hull, Beverley, the Holy Trinity, the See of York, Archbishop William Maclagan, a Gallic cock, and the arms of families related to the Sykes family.  Between the first and second tier is a band with carved flowers and animals.  The second tier has four canopied open niches, each containing a different statue of Queen Eleanor designed by Moore; traces remain to indicate that these statues were originally painted.  The third stage has four blind tracery panels. The fourth tier of the cross in Hardingstone has been missing for many centuries, so Moore created his own design for the top tier of the cross in Sledmere, with four closed niches each housing a statue of the Virgin Mary. The cross is topped by a stone pinnacle and a jewelled bronze crucifix.
caption: Eleanor cross, Hardingstone
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