Cavalier's Cross

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In a field just outside the town of Bovey Tracey stands a forlorn looking granite cross, it is sometimes known as Langstone Cross or Challabrook Cross. At some time in the past it has been used as a gatepost as is evident from the two rusty gate hangers that still protrude from its battered shaft. It also looks as if the arm was smashed off in order to create a straight edge from which to hang the gate. A small plaque marks the fact that at one time the cross was used to mark the grave of a Royalist Officer that was killed nearby in 1645 in a battle where the Roundheads defeated the Royalist army. It states:

"This old cross once marked the grave of a Royalist officer who fell near here in 1645 when Cromwell's troops defeated the Royalists - A. J. Wyatt 1923".

The cross was actually rescued and restored by a Mr A. J. Wyatt in 1923. To further add insult to injury a 14 x 12cm cross has been incised on its south-eastern face which may have been a later addition. Today the cross stands at a height of 1.7m and a shaft circumference of 1.37m, what is left of the arms spans a tragic 48cm.

© Tim Sandles 2007

Reading List.

Sandles, T. 1997 A Pilgrimage to Dartmoor's Crosses, Forest Publishing, Liverton.