Sandbach Crosses

The ancient crosses are constructed of sandstone and stand side by side in the cobbled market place of Sandbach, surrounded by attractive timber-framed buildings. It is highly likely that they were originally brightly painted and adorned with jewels and metalwork, but no trace of this is visible today.

The decoration of the crosses is so fine and intricate that they have prompted speculation that they may have been carved by a workshop of skilled masons attached to a Saxon minster or a monastery located at Sandbach during the Saxon period. The crosses stood as powerful symbols of church authority, and are the most important monuments linked to the Saxon kingdom of Mercia, which are dated to the early-9th century when Sandbach lay at the centre of a large early Saxon parish.

Not a lot is known about the origin of the crosses, and a lot of the information we have regarding their origin is speculation. The information sign on the base of the crosses says that they were erected by King Peada of Mercia in AD 643 to proclaim the Christian message in an area that had only recently been converted to Christianity.

The two crosses were probably moved from their unknown original site to the market place in the 16th century. They are first noted in historical records in 1585 soon after the town was granted a charter for two fairs and a weekly market. In the early-17th century they were torn down by Puritans opposed to religious imagery and the pieces were dispersed, but they were reassembled in 1816.

Five fragments of other Anglo-Saxon monuments lie in St Mary’s churchyard just around the corner.