The Mystery Cross

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As always you start looking for one thing on the internet and end up coming up with something completely different. Here is a typical case in question, I am searching for a Dartmoor artist and come across the picture shown below. It was supposedly painted by a man called E. Ward Bussell in 1880 and is entitled; "Drywell Cross, Dartmore, Devon". A Google search of E. Ward Bussell came up with virtually no more information apart from two other paintings he did in the late 1800s and thousands of pages for Darcy Bussell. So why bother doing a page on Bussell's Drywell Cross?  

The painting above shows a lone cross standing on a pile of granite boulders above a stream/leat/pond. The cross has a hint of Celtic design about it insomuch as there is a definite curve to the arms. Sitting in the middle of the distant skyline is a lofty tor with what appears to be a building of some kind perched on its top. All in all it is something that would grace the walls of any Dartmoor lovers lounge. But the problem is where is it meant to be?

Drywell Cross is actually located at OS grid reference SX 7010 7531 which is near a small crossroads roughly a mile and a half to the south west of Widecombe in the Moor and is certainly not on open moorland. The actual head of the cross was discovered built into a wall by Masson Phillips in 1937 and later restored in 1967 by the Dartmoor Preservation Association. William Crossing made no mention whatsoever of the cross when he first wrote his articles on the crosses of Dartmoor in 1902. So how, in 1888 did E. Ward Bussell manage to paint such a detailed picture of a cross that was probably firmly embedded in a wall? The cross shown in the painting certainly bears no resemblance to the restored Drywell Cross as can be seen in illustration 1 below (click for larger image):

On the original there is small rectangular recess cut between the arms which possibly housed an icon of some kind. Today the cross stands tight against a wall so it is difficult to see if such a recess is cut into the other side as well. But the point is that there is no such recess shown in Bussell's picture but on this it must be said that it could be on the unseen side of his cross - but very unlikely.

What about the structure on the tor that dominates the far horizon? This may well be Brentor as the church on the rock dominates many Dartmoor skylines. If this is the case there is no way that Brentor can be seen on any skyline behind Drywell Cross. The only cross on Dartmoor that sits on a boulder beside a water course of some descript is Hutchinson's Cross which is by Nun's Cross Farm. This cross overlooks the nearby Devonport Leat and does look vaguely like Bussell's depiction. The only problem with this theory is that Hutchinson's Cross was erected in 1968 as a memorial, 80 years after the painting was done.

So, either E. Ward Bussell painted an unknown cross that has now been lost or he has used a great deal of poetical license in his work. Either way it does not detract from the painting unless you are a Dartmoor purist, I think it would bug me if it was hanging on my wall because I would always want to know what it was based on.

If by any remote chance anybody reads this page who knows anything about E. Ward Bussell it would be appreciated if they could enlighten me. Similarly, if anyone has any other suggestions as to where this painting portrays I would be grateful.