Clearwell Cross pre - 1868
Courtesy of: Geoff Davis. Uploaded: .
Charles Pooley wrote in 1868 : "On the top of the Clearwell pedestal
is a block of squared masonry, in which is inserted the remains of the
shaft. The baldness of this block mars the outline of the whole, and
conveys the impression that the original, which was doubtless designed
in accordance with the same style of architecture as the pedestal, has
been broken down and this put up as a substitute. Since the drawing was
taken from which this plate was engraved an attempt has been made to
supply the deficiency in the shaft by clumsily grafting on the stump
a supplementary piece of stone , and this again surmounted by a cock
with a bright red comb and wattles.
This stone had been selected and prepared for the purpose by a respectable
local inhabitant, named Yarworth, more than twenty years previously. The good
taste however, of Caroline, Countess of Dunraven, who has done so much for
the village, has led to the removal of this incongruity, and at her expense
the Cross has been restored in a style more in harmony with that which prevailed
at the period of its erection. It is gratifying to find that the architect,
fearing to carry the work of restoration too far, has most wisely contented
himself with doing as little as possible to the structure itself, thus preserving
unaltered the original character of the work. The only parts that have been
touched are one of the angle-shafts, which was much decayed, and has since
been remodeled out of Yarworth's monolith, for which purpose the stone was
well suited, and the piece of the old shaft, which has been carefully copied
and lengthened with a simple but elegant floriated Cross as a finial. The total
height from the ground to the top of the Cross is 20 ft."
Clearwell Cross Restored (as drawn and designed by John Middleton)
If you wish to comment on this photo or can supply names of people please click
here 
WANTED: Old photos, old postcards, ephemera and memories of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. U.K.