This book describes a small group of late medieval Cornish lantern crosses and related sculpture. These crosses have never been examined in detail before and this publication addresses the omission.

The term 'lantern cross' is from the shape of these stone crosses. All have cross-heads which are four-sided, square or rectangular in section and bear a resemblance to an old-fashioned lantern.

All the lantern cross-heads feature gothic decoration and have sculptured biblical scenes and religious images on their four sides. These include the Crucifixion, Holy Trinity, Virgin Mary, bishops, abbots and figures carved to represent individual saints. After the Reformation many suffered iconoclasm and damage while others were hidden and protected by Catholic recusants, to be discovered or re-emerge in safer times. The book tells these stories and describes their later restoration by Victorian antiquarians.

Separate chapters also discuss the distribution of the crosses and their geology. The different stone types have given rise to contrasting styles as stonemasons grappled with the difficulty of achieving fine detail in rugged granite. Their reconstruction, restoration and repair are noted and finally their present condition is considered.