Maen Achwyfan Cross facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maen Achwyfan Cross |
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"the tallest Wheel-Cross in Britain"
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| Type | Cross |
| Location | Whitford, Flintshire |
| Built | 10th/11th century |
| Governing body | Cadw |
| Official name: Maen Achwyfan | |
| Reference no. | FL005 |
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Maen Achwyfan Cross, near the village of Whitford, Flintshire, Wales, is a high cross dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. Standing 3.4 metres (11 ft) high, it is the tallest wheel cross in Britain, and a Scheduled monument.
History and description
Cadw translates Maen Achwyfan as "the stone of [Saint] Cwyfan" and dates the cross to the early Medieval or Medieval periods. Edward Hubbard, in his Clwyd Pevsner, suggests a build date of the late 10th or early 11th century. It stands 3.4 m high and is carved from a single block of stone. Its height makes it the "tallest wheel cross in Britain". Its wheel cross head has bosses on both sides. The shaft is decorated with knotwork and with images of men and animals. Hubbard recorded in 2003 that the figurative images were "now barely discernible". Cadw notes the Viking influence on the design, the cross being carved at a time when Viking raids were common along the North Wales coastline.
The cross stands in a field to the north of the village of Whitford. It is a Scheduled monument.
