Foldys Cross in Towneley Park near Burnley in Lancashire

NGR:- SD 85234 30660. To get to Foldys Cross walk 300 metres south-west along the main path from Towneley Hall to reach “The Causeway”. Foldys Cross stands (here) at the intersection of three main footpaths. Or you can park the car in the Barwise car park just off Todmorden Road (A671) and then take the footpath from the northeast side of the car park to the monument, which is now directly in front of you.

Foldys Cross, Towneley Park, near Burnley.

Foldys Cross stands on the Causeway in Towneley Park, near Burnley, Lancashire, 300 metres southwest of Towneley Hall. Originally it was the Burnley market cross and stood at the south side of St Peter’s parish church. It was set up and named after John Foldys or Foldy, a former chaplain of St Peter’s church, who died in 1520. In the late 18th Century the cross was damaged by local Puritans, and so in 1789 it was brought by the Towneley family to their park to save it from destruction; Charles Towneley (1737–1805) possibly having a hand in this. The cross is made of sandstone and is Gothic in appearance. It is a tall slender monument on a circular stone pedestal which sits upon a set of seven square-shaped steps; the cross-head is very nice with its decorated four arms, one of which is sunk into the shaft to support the head itself; this appears to be the original moulded head or cap with carved emblems and fleurons on the collar – all typically Gothic in style. In the middle of the cross-head is a crude crucifix scene and on the other side the letters “IHS”, while on the plinth there is a Latin inscription.

Foldys Cross, Towneley Park, from a different angle.

On the base of the cross a Latin inscription reads:- Orate pro anima Johannes Foldys, capellani qui istam crucem fieri fecit Anno Domini MCCCCCXX, which when translated reads:- “Pray for the soul of John Foldys, chaplain who caused this cross to be made in the year of Our Lord 1520.” The letters “IHS” on the opposite side of the four-armed cross-head is a monogram or symbol for the name Jesus. The cross was fully restored for the Jubilee Year celebrations by Burnley Corporation in 1911, according to the metal plaque on the base, and set up in its current position from where it used to be located on the Avenue at the northeastern side of Towneley Hall. The seven tiered steps upon which the monument stands date from the 20th century probably from when it was restored by the Corporation in 1911. Foldys Cross is now grade II listed and the English Heritage Building identity number is 467232. The HE (Historic England) list no is: 1247301.

Inscribed Plaque on the base of Foldys Cross.

Richard Peace (1997) tells us that: Foldys Cross lies behind the house at the top of Lime Tree Avenue (in fact a path). It was built in 1520 and the Latin inscription around the base instructs you to pray for the soul of John Foldys, Chaplain. It stood intact in Burnley churchyard until 1789 when it was broken up, probably by a Puritan mob. The various pieces were carefully collected and resurrected at Towneley. It was moved to its present location in 1911, the Jubilee Year of Burnley Borough, and the Corporation had the cross restored. Some portions are original, and the base tier of seven steps is believed to be a copy of the original design.”

Sources / References & Related Websites:-

Peace, Richard, Lancashire Curiosities, Dovecote Press Ltd., Stanbridge, Wimborne, Dorset, 1997.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1247301

https://megalithix.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/foldys-cross/

https://towneleypark.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/foldys-cross/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towneley_Park

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000954