Crosshall Cross

Journey 2 in the band's cycle tour of the Merse takes us to Crosshall, near Eccles, see map.

In stark contrast to the neat and tidy memorial to Richard Hillary, see previous entry, the 12th Century cross at Crosshall is shamefully neglected and handily kept behind a stock-proof, barbed wire, fence. Presumably to help keep it handy for local livestock and inaccessible to humans. We do, however, approve of Borders Council's policy of not building car parks at potential tourist sites, presumably because SBC want people to travel by bike or by foot and therefore not require anywhere to park their motor.

Perhaps only in the Borders could something that might attract the passing tourist be made as difficult to see as possible. This is a shame, for if it were restored it would be really quite interesting, being in the lee of Hume Castle and in a quiet area of the Merse it gives you a feel for a much older time, before roads and fences.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/) describes the Cross thus:

Crosshall cross is situated by the side of the road approximately 300m south-west of Crosshall farmhouse.

It probably dates from the twelfth century, and is thought to be a memorial stone erected to mark the grave of an important person.

The cross is just under 3m high, and is inserted into a large block of stone that is itself over 1m in height. The shaft tapers towards the top, terminating in a disc on which a cross is carved on either side. Each side of the shaft bears carved decoration; a naked man and greyhound on the east side, and a coat of arms on the west, south and possibly the north side. On the west and north sides, there are also depictions of a carved cross. A sword is depicted on the south side.

The symbols carved on this cross suggest that the person whom it commemorates may have been to the Crusades and the coat of arms may represent the Soulis family.

In the nineteenth century, local tradition recorded that it commemorated a governor of the nearby Hume Castle who had been killed in a skirmish.