Clinton Cross
Processional crosses have a long history. According to St Bede the Venerable, St Augustine carried a silver cross before him like a standard when he processed into Canterbury on a papal mission to revitalise the Christian faith in England in 597. For centuries since, crucifers, or cross-bearers, have carried crosses ahead of processions at church services.
Crosses often bear inscriptions commemorating people or events, or offering prayers for healing and protection. Charles Henry Rolle Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton and Lord Lieutenant of Devon, gave this richly jewelled and enamelled silver gilt cross to Exeter Cathedral in 1902 as an offering of thanksgiving for the safe return of his two sons, John Frederick and Walter Alexander, from the second Anglo Boer War in South Africa. The cross was first used at the Cathedral on Christmas Day 1903 and has appeared at the head of processions at special services throughout the year ever since.
Carried high in a procession, the cross is a powerful symbol of the Christian faith. The arms of this elaborate cross also feature blue enamel quatrefoils containing the symbols of the four Evangelists: St Matthew (angel), St Mark (winged lion), St Luke (ox) and St John (eagle). At the centre, a red enamel quatrefoil features the Agnus Dei, or Lamb of God.
The designer of the cross, George Halford Fellowes Prynne, was a renowned Devon architect of the High Victorian Gothic style. He designed and renovated many parish churches in the South West, including Holy Trinity, Exmouth, and St Peter, Budleigh Salterton, for members of the Clinton family, and St Peter in Plymouth, where his father was vicar.
