Wakefield Cathedral Cross

About 6 km south of this West Yorkshire cathedral is Walton Hall, where a carved stone doorstep was identified as the fragment of Saxon cross shaft and dated at around 930 AD. This fragment is now housed in Wakefield museum and a replica can be seen outside the east wall of the cathedral's south aisle.

The fragment and its Celtic swirls inspired the renowned stone carver and calligrapher Celia Kilner to design the present cross which was erected outside the cathedral's west door just before Easter 2016. The stone was quarried 30 km away in Holmfirth, the hometown of Ms Kilner, who carefully hand-carved the entire 3 m tall piece.

The photo on the right shows its relatively small cross at the top of the shaft, enhancing the height and typical of ancient High Crosses. (Click the photo to enlarge.)

In contrast, the swirls carved in each cross arm have a contemporary design of two interlocking fish symbols, which in turn interlock the outline of a bishop's mitre (coloured here for illustrative purposes only).