Village Cross (At Corner Of Rea Lane)

The village cross, located at the corner of Rea Lane, dates from the early 15th century. It features a dressed stone shaft that was discovered buried in the churchyard of the Church of St Swithun in Hempsted by Canon Samuel Lysons in 1839. Around 1850, the shaft was erected on a stepped base at its current location, with a short upper part added and the cross carved under Lysons' direction.

The exterior includes a square base made of two steps of dressed stone blocks, resting on a 20th-century bottom step of rubble, and an upper inset plinth block that is likely medieval and has a badly weathered chamfer. The slender medieval shaft, which has chamfered angles and is broached at the bottom, is dowelled into the top of the plinth block. The 19th-century addition to the shaft is topped with a carved Celtic cross. This medieval shaft is believed to have originated from a cross funded by William Franklin in 1417 before his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. The site is also designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.