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The King Arthur Cross Rediscovered?
by Geoffrey Gillam
In 1191, the monks of Glastonbury claimed to have
found the grave of King Arthur and Queen
Guinevere. A shrine to contain their bones was
eventually built inside the abbey and remained
there until it was destroyed in 1553 during the
Reformation. On top of Arthur’s coffin an
inscribed lead cross was said to have rested.
Among those who saw the cross was John Leland who
in 1542 gave details of its size and description,
and it was illustrated for the first time in the
sixth edition of (William, ed.) Camden’s Britannia
published in 1607. The fate of the cross is not
known although it is said to have been seen in
Wells in the 18th century, after which it finally
disappeared.
An
inscribed lead cross, alleged to be the same one
found at Glastonbury, was reported as being
recovered from the bed of the lake near Maidens
brook in the grounds of Forty Hall (Enfield,
Middlesex) during dredging operation there in
1981. The finder, Derek Mahoney, took the cross
to the British Museum and allowed the student on
duty there to photograph it but he refused her
request to leave it for further examination. In
fact, apart from this one occasion, Derek
Mahoney’s cross was never seen again.
Because
the lake is part of the public open space owned
by the London Borough of Enfield, the Council
took Derek Mahoney to court in an attempt to
recover the cross. He refused and was then
sentenced to two years imprisonment for contempt,
although he was released after serving only about
half the sentence. The whole episode became a
minor cause celebre and the cross was the subject
of radio and television programmes and details
were published in the national press and local
papers (ADVERTISER, SOCIETY NEWS, TIMES)
As has been supposed of the original discovery in 1191,
the events of 1981 were part of a clever hoax.
There is little doubt that Derek Mahoney had
manufactured a copy of the cross and made up the
story about his finding it in order to obtain
publicity for his legal battle with a firm of
solicitors and an estate agent concerning the
sale of a house. He had been a lead pattern maker
working for a well-known local firm of toy-makers
who produced detailed lead models of cars. He had
also been for some years a member of the Enfield
Archaeological Society and had given considerable
help on occasions with Carbon-14 dating and in
taking x-rays of iron objects from excavations
carried out by the Society.
However,
only limited technical expertise was required as
the author also carried out some experiments and
was able to prove that it is not difficult to
cast a copy of the cross in question.
A degree
of verisimilitude was added to the story of the
local discovery by the fact that the antiquarian
Richard Gough, an editor of Camden’s Britannia
in which an illustration of the cross appeared,
and a keen collector of antiquities, lived at
nearby Gough Park from 1714 until his death in
1809; a situation known to Derek Mahoney. There
is no mention of the cross in Richard
Gough’s papers, which he bequeathed to the
Bodleian Library at Oxford. Nor is there any
reference to the object in any catalogue of his
collection, which was sold in 1810. Apart from
this, it is impossible to believe that the cross
could have found its way from Gough’s
collection to the bed of the lake at Forty Hall
without some public reference to loss being made.
Also, members of the Enfield Archaeological
Society kept a close watch on the lake during the
time it was being dredged. The operator of the
machine used during these operations was known to
the Society members concerned and he was quite
sure that no lead cross had been found there.
In spite
of his continued efforts, public interest in the
cross waned and sadly Derek Mahoney, who by now
was far from well and who had failed to resolve
his legal problems, eventually took his own life.
His cross was never found and the belief is that
he destroyed it soon after showing it to the
staff at the British Museum. He probably did this
to avoid the possibility of the cross being
discovered and the hoax exposed.
This story
has now passed into local legend and like so many
tales has gained in the telling. Only recently,
during an exhibition by the Enfield
Archaeological Society in the grounds of Forty
Hall in 1995, members of the public were asking
for more information about the discovery of a ‘golden
cross’, a ‘golden crown’
and even a ‘golden sword’
(shades of Excalibur!) in the lake at Forty Hall.
SOURCES
..................................................
ADVERTISER:
The Enfield Advertiser 17th December 1981
SOCIETY
NEWS: Bulletin of the Enfield Archaeological
Society 86 September 1982, 87 December 1982, 88
March 1983, 89 June 1983, 110 September 1988, 111
December 1988 & 113 June 1989
TIMES: The Times 3rd April
1983
The
Enfield Archaeological Society
Founded 1955
Membership of the Enfield
Archaeological Society is open to all with an
interest in the past.
The Society was formed in 1955
to recover, by means of the study and practice of
archaeology, information about the history of the
London Borough of Enfield. Sites investigated by
the Society have included the pre-Roman earthwork
at Bush Hill Park, the area of the Roman
settlement at Bush Hill, as well as the nearby
Roman Road known as Ermine Street, which ran
through Edmonton and Enfield, the Tudor royal
palaces at Elsyng, Forty Hall and at Enfield
Town, the New River and many smaller domestic and
industrial sites.
During the winter months there
are illustrated lectures and in the summer there
are occasional coach and other visits to places
of interest.
Those who wish to take a more
active part in the work of the Society are
encouraged to carry out research into various
aspects of the local history and archaeology of
the London Borough of Enfield.
From time to time, as occasions
demand, rescue excavations are carried out where
archaeological sites are threatened.
Society News, a quarterly
bulletin, which is free to members, gives details
of forthcoming events, reports of past meetings,
news of local archaeological discoveries and the
results of research by members.
Previous publications include:
Prehistoric and Roman Enfield
The Royal Palaces of Enfield
The Industrial Monuments in the London Borough of Enfield
Enfield at War 1914-l8
Enfield at War 1939-45
Histories and Mysteries of Writing and Theatres
Music Halls and Cinemas in the London Borough of Enfield
Unfortunately,
these are now out of print. Other publications
are in the course of production.
The Society is affiliated to
the Council for British Archaeology and the
London and Middlesex Archaeological Society.
For details of membership,
please contact:
The Enfield Archaeological
Society,
23 Merton Road,
Enfield, Middx EN2 0LS. Telephone 0181 367 0263.
Reproduced with the kind permission of the Enfield
Archaeological Society
 Forty Hall, Enfield
Available from the Enfield Archaeological Society
23 Merton Road,
Enfield, Middx
EN2 0LS
UK
Price £9.60 +£1.40 P & P
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