Eleanor Cross

The Eleanor Cross is a Grade I listed structure located on the east side of High Street in Waltham Cross. It was sculpted by Alexander of Abingdon, with masonry work by Nicholas Dyminge de Reyne and Roger Crundale. This cross is one of the three remaining crosses built for King Edward I to mark the resting places of his deceased queen, Eleanor of Castile.

The cross features three stages, topped by a pinnacle and a cross. The second and third stages were rebuilt between 1832 and 1833 by W. B. Clarke, again from 1885 to 1892 by C. E. Ponting, and once more from 1950 to 1953. The current statues are replicas. The structure has a hexagonal plan.

The lowest stage includes shields, blank two-light arches, crocketed gables, and diapered spandrels on each face, along with a leaf cornice and a pierced quatrefoil parapet. The middle stage showcases three draped statues in niches that alternate with open triangular canopies, all topped with crocketed gables, pinnacles, and leaf finials. The third stage features single, blank, traceried arches on each face, also adorned with gables and finials.

The cross stands on a three-step base, which is surrounded by late 19th-century spiked iron railings with flower finials on the corner posts. It is also designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.