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Eleanor of Castile (c1240 - 1290 (50)) was the Queen Consort of the (most) powerful Plantagenet King Edward 1 of England ("Longshanks") (1239 - 1272 - 1307 (68)).  They were married as teenagers in October 1254 at the Cistercian Royal Abbey & Nunnery of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos in northern Spain and she had at least 15 children, most of whom died in childhood.   She was crowned with Edward in Westminater Abbey on Sunday 19 August 1274, not long after they had returned from one of the tail end crusades in 1270-72.

Eleanor of Castile was not your historically important figure, and indeed not that popular because of her insatiable desire to "buy" land without actually paying for it (though as a balance it was she, or rather her estate, and not her grieving king, who paid for her three tombs and 12 crosses). 

However, she left more visible and long lasting marks on England than other Queen Eleanors - her mother in-law Queen Eleanor of Provence (1217 - 1291 (73)) wife of Henry III (1207-1216-1272 (65)), and great great grandmother (and also great grandmother in-law - the continentals managed to slip in an extra generation), the amazing Queen Eleanor (Duchess of Aquitaine) (1122 - 1204 (82)) wife of King Henry II (1133-1154-1189 (56)) - because Queen Eleanor of Castile is the Eleanor of "Eleanor Crosses" fame.

Eleanor Cross, Geddington

Eleanor Crosses were stone crosses on large sculptured plinths (all with different designs) erected by command of Eleanor's grieving King Edward I (but paid for out of her estate) at each of the overnight stops of her 1290 funeral procession from Harby  (near Lincoln) where she died to Westminster. 

The stopping places were Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, GEDDINGTON, HARDINGSTONE (Northampton), Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, WALTHAM, West Cheap (= Cheapside), and Charing - much restored crosses are still to be found at the places written in capital letters, with the one at Geddington being by far the best preserved, most accessible and attractively situated.  Geddington was the only cross that had a triangular cross section, and this gave it a more slender appearance than others like the octagonal affair at Hardingstone.

Hardingstone is not that far away from Geddington (a day's medieval funeral cortege away to be precise) but the cross is difficult to find being as how it is on the bank above a busy and fast dual carriageway with no obvious parking access, and not in the village of Hardingstone itself.  Informed pub intelligence in the village revealed to team Paradox that the cross lost its top during a low flying incident in WW II, but others say it happened a few hundred years earlier. 

The Waltham Cross (now entirely replica) stands in the middle of an ultra drab English 1960s (?) shopping centre in the middle of the drab town of the same name which does not merit a visit (though the nave of Waltham Abbey should not be missed). 

The remaining crosses were disappeared by O.Cromwell and others (including English Weather) over the centuries.  Some bits and pieces are in museums, including the British Museum (London), the Museum of London (Barbican) and the Waltham Cross Library / Museum.

Eleanor's tomb (effigy below) can be found in Westminster Abbey.  The bronze effigy was made by master William Torel, who actually made two - one for Westminster (body less heart) and one for Lincoln Cathedral (entrails, called a visceral tomb).  The original Lincoln bronze and tomb has gone (though it has has been replaced with a good copy), but the surviving Westminster bronze, cast in one piece, is now one of the earliest large scale bronzes in England.  It is recorded that 350 gold florins were purchased from the merchants of Lucca for the gilding. The tomb for Eleanor's heart was in Blackfriars but no longer exists. 

This photo comes from "Edward I - A Great and Terrible King" by Marc Morris - see right

Link to Westminster Abbey website - tombs of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile

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Lincoln Cathedral - reconstruction of the visceral tomb and (guildingless) effigy of Queen Eleanor of Castile

The coats of arms are England, Ponthieu and Leon-Castile.  Eleanor was the daughter of the first King to rule over both Leon and Castile.

GEDDINGTON

Link to Geddington Village web pages

Opportunity for a pub lunch at The Star Inn in the shadow of the Middle Ages.  This is far and away the best preserved, most accessible and attractively located of the three remaining Eleanor Crosses.  It was the only Eleanor Cross based on a triangular cross section.

Our thanks to Pam Hopkins for this snow-soft atmospheric view of Geddington in February 2009.

Beautiful detailing, including on this side the arms of Ponthieu and the lions and castles of Leon-Castile.  Eleanor's father Ferdinando was the first King of both Leon and Castile, and her mother was Countess of Ponthieu (in France) - a title that Eleanor inherited.  She was the great great grandaughter of her husband Edward's great grandmother - Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Leon Castile and England

There is also an interesting looking parish church (Saint Mary Magdalene, behind the camera position) but this is mostly not open for security reasons.

Link to Geddington Village web pages

WALTHAM CROSS

The Eleanor Cross at Waltham sits stoically in the middle of the molto ordanario and  drab shopping centre of Waltham Cross.  Hardly any of it is original, but some original bits are in the local library.

Nearby is Waltham Abbey, in which the original magnificent Norman nave has survived as part of a parish church and is well worth a visit (remember also to look for the green man!).

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All original material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-10 - The contents may not be hotlinked, or reproduced without permission