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Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base is a medieval cross shaft base situated in the churchyard at Bettws Newydd in Wales. The monument stands on bedrock of the Ludlow Series, a sequence of mudstones, siltstones and sandstones that formed during the Ludlow period of the Silurian. This underlying geology is typical of the Welsh borderlands and would have provided local stone suitable for the construction and embellishment of religious monuments during the medieval period.
The cross-base represents an important element of medieval parish religious life, when such monuments served as focal points for worship and community gathering within churchyards. Crosses of this type were commonly erected between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries and frequently incorporated decorated stonework. The survival of the base at Bettws Newydd, even where the shaft and head may no longer remain intact, preserves evidence of medieval craftsmanship and devotional practice.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage body, under reference MM122, recognising its significance as part of Wales's recorded medieval heritage. The cross-base contributes to understanding the religious and social landscape of the medieval Welsh parish, and the site's geology has shaped both the raw materials available to medieval craftsmen and the preservation conditions of this survivor from the medieval period.
Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM122. View the official record →
Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base is a medieval cross shaft base situated in the churchyard at Bettws Newydd in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM122.
Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a cross. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is MM122.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St. David's Churchyard Cross, Trostre (1.5 km), Llancayo Camp (2.7 km), Camp 650m South of Ty Freeman (4.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Bettws Newydd Churchyard Cross-Base stands on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.