05/06/2026
Visted recently by the RedAnts, our write up and photograph follows hereunder. The sketch though was by Arthur Langdon as it appeared in his book of 1896......
Choon Cross, St Buryan
Introduction
Choon Cross, also known as Choone Cross or Chyoone Cross, stands beside an ancient route South East of Saint Buryan in West Cornwall.
It occupies a prominent position at a junction where several old church paths once met, serving both as a religious monument and as a guide for travellers crossing the upland landscape.
The cross is a Scheduled Monument and is regarded as one of the most important early mediaeval crosses in Penwith.
Toponymy
The place name associated with Choon Cross has been discussed in detail by the late Cornish Craig Weatherhill who followed established Cornish toponymic scholarship in interpreting its linguistic origins.
His work places the name firmly within the native Cornish landscape vocabulary rather than attributing any meaning connected to the cross itself.
His research derived Choon, Choone and Chywoon from the Cornish elements ‘chy’ meaning ‘house’ or ‘dwelling’ and ‘goon’ meaning ‘downs’, ‘moor’ or ‘unenclosed upland pasture’.
The resulting compound, ‘chy goon’, would therefore signify ‘house on the downs’ or ‘dwelling on the upland’.
Over time, as Cornish place names were adapted through English spelling conventions and local pronunciation, the form gradually evolved through intermediate spellings such as ‘Chywoon’ to the shortened and anglicised forms ‘Choon’e and ‘Choo’n.
This interpretation reflects a wider pattern across West Penwith and Cornwall as a whole, where many ancient settlement names describe topographical position rather than ownership or function.
Elements such as ‘chy’ (house), ‘tre’ (farmstead or settlement) and ‘pen’ (head or promontory) are commonly combined with landscape descriptors like ‘goon’ (downland) to form descriptive place names rooted in early Cornish speech.
In the case of Choon Cross, Craig Weatherhill’s analysis indicates that the name does not refer to the monument itself but to the surrounding locality in which it stands.
The Cross
The cross takes its modern designation from this nearby place name tradition, rather than from any original dedication or inscription.
The monument is thus understood as part of a wider linguistic and archaeological landscape, in which early Christian stones were later incorporated into existing patterns of settlement and routeways.
Seen in this light, Choon Cross is not only a significant early mediaeval monument but also a marker within a deeply ancient naming landscape.
The survival of the Cornish derived place-name element preserves evidence of how the upland terrain above Saint Buryan was once described by its early inhabitants.
The surviving monument consists of a large granite cross-head set directly into a substantial granite base stone.
The original shaft has been lost possibly cut off to be used as a gate post.
The cross head is unusual in being of the Latin form with unenclosed arms and it carries a carved relief figure of Christ on one face.
On the reverse is a simple Latin cross in low relief.
This distinctive Christ figure links the monument to a small group of very early Cornish crosses associated with Saint Buryan and the surrounding district.
The cross-head is approximately two feet six inches high, two feet seven inches wide and just over 10 inches thick.
The carved figure of Christ is about one foot three inches high and one foot two inches across.
The base stone measures roughly four feet square and stands about one foot above the surrounding ground.
The cross is generally dated to the late 9th or early 10th century although the image of the head leaning to the left suggesting death may indicate it is of the 12th century.
Scholars believe it belongs to a formative period in Cornish stone carving and may have influenced the development of the more elaborate decorated crosses that appeared across West Cornwall during the 10th century.
The prolific antiquarian Arthur Langdon (b. 1853 d.1911), writing in ‘Old Cornish Crosses’ (1896), recorded somewhat critically:
“On the head is sculptured a grotesque little figure of our Lord, and it is difficult to imagine one that could be more primitive and severe in ex*****on.
The little round head inclines slightly to the left—an unusual direction; the arms are long, thin, and perfectly straight; while the hips are more like those of a female.
The legs are very short in proportion, and are terminated with immense feet, which turn outward at right angles.”
Often quoted, this comment reflects a distinctly Victorian aesthetic bias.
Arthur Langdon's sketch is seen below.
Langdon, as an architect, often valued neatness, symmetry and refinement of carving.
Modern archaeologists are generally more interested in chronology, symbolism and local artistic traditions and what Langdon described as ‘rude’ workmanship is now often understood as characteristic of an early and highly significant sculptural tradition.
The cross’s position beside ancient church paths highlights the importance of such monuments in marking routes used by parishioners, pilgrims and funeral processions.
The Saint Buryan District.
Historically, Saint Buryan was the centre of a major early Christian community and later a collegiate church of considerable importance.
The Choon Cross formed part of a wider network of religious markers radiating from the parish church across the surrounding countryside.
Although its shaft has disappeared, the monument remains in what is believed to be its original position, continuing to mark a route that has been used for many centuries and when on the shaft would certainly have been visible from Saint Buryan Church.
Unlike some Cornish crosses, Choon Cross is not associated with any well recorded local legend.
Its folklore is instead bound up with the sacred landscape of Saint Buryan, where ancient church paths, holy sites and early Christian monuments were long regarded as places of spiritual significance.
The unusual figure of Christ carved on the cross has contributed to its reputation as one of the earliest and most distinctive religious monuments in Penwith.
Local tradition and antiquarian interest have helped preserve its importance within the historic landscape of West Cornwall.
References:
Place Names in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books, 2005
Stone Crosses in West Penwith - Andrew G. Langdon, Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, 1997
Old Cornish Crosses With an Article on Their Ornament by J. Romilly Allen, F.S.A. (Scot.) - Arthur G. Langdon, Joseph Pollard, 5 St Nicholas Street, Truro 1896
Crosses and Churchway Paths in the Land’s End Peninsula West Cornwall, Volume 3, St. Buryan – Ian McNeil Cooke, Men an Tol Studio, 2000
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