Easby Cross

We had put out a statement about marriage and civil partnerships and are awaiting a flurry of emails. I don’t often speak up, but felt compelled to do so on this occasion.

But for me, the highlight of the day was Benediction in the Little Oratory – my son’s school.

After, I made a quick visit to the V&A. Where better to idle by twenty minutes?

There, I found the Easby Cross.

It dates from around 800AD. The monumental freestanding cross was unique to the British Isles and an extraordinary feat of engineering for that time. This specimen in the V&A is one of the finest surviving. Here I saw patterns from the British isles and pictures of the Apostles, carved with the majesty of European artistry.

In the Gallary of the V&A, I was suddenly back in Celtic mists on a highland moor setting up a symbol of faith against the Pagan darkness of Tribal Northern Europe.