Crazywell Cross, near Crazywell Pool

Crazywell Cross

This cross stands close to the south-east corner of Crazywell Pool [SX583704]. It is almost certainly one of the crosses erected upon the moor during the Middle Ages to act as a waymaker for the track leading east-west between the great abbeys of Buckfast and Buckland.

William Crossing wrote about this cross at the end of the 19th century as it was lying broken upon the moor: "The cross, of which only the head now remains, is lying near the edge of the pool, and probably not far from its original site. It is particularly unfortunate that it should have been overturned and shattered for no spot could be more fitting for it than the bank of the silent pool".

The cross has subsequently been repaired, the original head and arms being affixed to a new granite shaft and the whole re-erected in what is probably a new socket hole close to where it once stood.

Crazywell Cross towards Burrator Reservoir

Access: very easy via parking at Norsworthy Bridge, Burrator Reservoir. A short walk on a graveled path soon brings you to both Crazywell Pool and the cross.