The cross is situated in a field close to a road about 350 metres south-west of Crosshall farmhouse[2] and is said to date from the 12th century, after the Second Crusade, 1147-49 CE. It is 452 centimetres (14 ft 10 inches)[3] in height and is thought to commemorate someone who had been to the Holy Land. According to local lore a governor of the nearby Hume Castle was killed in a skirmish (R.D. Thomson 1845, page 56). The coat of arms engraved on two sides of the column shaft may be that of the Soulis family.[4]
The cross shaft is set in a sturdy stone socket which, in turn, is set atop a base of masonry. On all sides the shaft tapers slightly up to the head. The wheel-head, an originally Celtic design[5], is 56 centimetres (1ft 10 inches) in diameter.
Engravings
The two faces of the cylindrical wheel-head are oriented east-west and each displays the same simple cross relief set within an outer rim.
The four flanks of the cross shaft are engraved with the following figures. [6][7][4]
North flank: a latin cross placed on a calvary
East flank: a male figure above a hound positioned upright
West flank: a shield above a latin cross
South flank: a shield above an upright longsword
The two heraldic shields - note above reference to the Soulis family - both depict three chevrons, two side by side at the top, one centered below, all three pointed upwards.
No engravings are reported on the socket.
Historical Descriptions
Descriptions of this monument differ greatly as to which images are recognisable on the various faces of this structure, but some authors report a host of details. A selection of reports:
The 1854 edition of "The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland; or, Dictionary of Scottish topography", Section "Berwickshire", page 164, line 10 states: "... In the parish of Eccles, at Crosshall, there is an upright stone column, with various sculptures; but there is no inscription, nor is there any tradition concerning it."[8]
James Hardy (1882-84) described the cross in the late nineteenth century as: "One of the best preserved of the ancient historical monuments of the Merse district".[2]
In 2006, the cross was described as such: "a male figure and a hound on one face and a Latin cross on the other; one of the sides has a cross and the other a sword. Shields with unidentified arms are carved on one face and one side, just below the cross-head."[2]
Ordnance Survey Records
The original Ordnance Survey Records for this historical monument, location Crosshall, Eccles Cross, NT74SE 5, are preserved on the following index cards.
A collection of photographs, sketches, and paintings of the Cross from various angles previously provided by canmore.org.uk, now supplemented by RCAHMS and Ordnance Survey records, has been transferred to a more generalised site, hosted by Historic Environment Scotland.[9]
Adjacent Cottages
On the opposite (northern) side of the road that passes the cross once stood a row of houses, now demolished (2024). An older painting (ca. 1850)[10] from the above stated collection depicts two entrances to adjacent, presumably thatched roof houses.[11] Two photographs of the cross taken during the following century, approx. 1960, from a position in the field behind the cross display the then-existant row of 5 slate-roofed houses.[12][13]
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