Woburn.
The cross was erected by John Battle and his partners, Ralph of Chichester being employed to make some of the ornamental carving. The puzzling détour of the procession from Watling Street to Woburn was no doubt due to the desire of the King to have the advantage of the religious services of the important Cistercian Abbey at this place.
Dunstable.
The cross at Dunstable was built by Battle of Northampton and his partners, part of the sculpture being supplied by Ralph of Chichester. It stood in the main street of Dunstable, where Watling Street crosses the Icknield Way. The Church and remains of the Augustinian Priory of Dunstable are situated a very short distance to the east, along the Icknield Way. Mention has already been made of the description given by the Dunstable annalist of the arrival of the funeral procession, and the ceremony of consecration of the site where the “lofty cross” was subsequently erected. The cross is said to have been demolished by troops under the Earl of Essex, in 1643. Parts of the foundation of the cross have been met with during recent alterations in the roadway.
St. Albans.
The cross was erected in what became the Market Place of St. Albans by John Battle and his partners, some of the sculpture being supplied by Ralph of Chichester. The visit of the procession to St. Albans is especially noteworthy on account of the record remaining of the elaborate religious services in the Church of the great Benedictine Abbey during the night the procession rested there. In 1596 the cross is described as “verie stately.” There can be no doubt, however, that already the cross had suffered much damage by the lapse of time, as well as by neglect. At any rate, scant ceremony was shown to the cross in later years. It is stated to have been partly destroyed by order of Parliament in 1643; fragments, however, stood in the market place till the year 1702. In 1703 an octagonal market house was built on its site; in 1765 this became a pump house, and in 1872 the present drinking fountain in the centre of St. Albans was built on the consecrated site of the “verie stately cross.”
Waltham.
The cross at Waltham was constructed by Dyminge de Legeri (de Reyns) and Roger Crundale. Crundale was a near relative, probably the brother, of Richard Crundale, the master mason at Westminster, and was obviously in close touch with the Westminster School. Dyminge de Legeri, of whom we have little knowledge—his name suggests a foreign origin—must have been a builder of recognized skill. It is possible that he may have been specially associated with Waltham Abbey.
Fig. 17.
The Cross at Waltham, showing its ruinous condition during the eighteenth century. Published by the Society of Antiquaries; drawn by Schnebbelie, engraved by Basire; Vetusta Monumenta, iii, plate xvi, 1791.