Waltham Cross Railway Station's Cross
Since Waltham Cross Railway Station is not a place of Christian worship, why does 'Cross' feature in the name? Can a cross be found there?
Waltham Cross Station
Waltham Cross Station opened in 1840, north of London. It is one of the three surviving medieval Eleanor Crosses.
Like many such monuments, it is called a 'cross' to convey a religious meaning, and to remind us of the spiritual transition from this world to the next.
One of the striking differences between this world and the next, is that we have a lot of air pollution. In the next world there is no pollution (which is irrelevant because we don't breathe there). In this world, for protection against further erosion from pollution, the original 13th century statues of Eleanor within that structure were removed in the 1980s to safe storage.
The cross appeared taller when it was first built, but over the years, the seven or eight steps leading up to the cross have been covered by successive road surfaces. Now only the top step can be seen.
