The Holy Cross
At the start of the 11th century, the church and manor of Waltham were held by an Anglo-Danish Thegn called Tovi the Proud. A legend recorded in the 12th century De Inventione Sanctœ Crucis Nostrœ ("The Discovery of our Holy Cross") or "Waltham Chronicle" tells how in about 1016, at another estate of Tovi's at Montacute near Glastonbury, his blacksmith found a large black flint (or marble) crucifix buried at the top of a hill, after a dream. Tovi had the cross loaded onto an ox-cart, but the oxen would only go in one direction and continued every day until they reached Waltham, a journey of some 150 miles. This Holy Rood or Cross was installed at the church and soon became the subject of pilgrimage. Tovi is said to have rebuilt the church, but modern evidence suggests that he probably retained the 8th century fabric of the building.
Read more about this topic: Waltham Abbey Church, History
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