<< Our Photo Pages >> Legg's Cross - Ancient Cross in England in County Durham
Submitted by Anne T on Monday, 24 August 2015 Page Views: 5472
Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Legg's Cross Alternative Name: Leg's CrossCountry: England County: County Durham Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Piercebridge Nearest Village: Bolam
Map Ref: NZ20712249
Latitude: 54.597171N Longitude: 1.680975W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Dating from the 9th century, the Pastscape record D37472 says this is "a rough cut rectangular sandstone base, badly worn, but is said to have featured interlacing ornament. This is probably a Legs Cross which marked the subdivision of a major Anglo Saxon estate centred on Gainford Village."
Locally it is said to have once had the inscription 'LEG' carved into it, from reused Roman masonry (the Roman fort and bridge at Piercebridge is nearby), hence the name, although, as confirmed by the Pastscape record above, 'legge' is also the Anglo-Saxon word for 'boundary'.
The cross lies just to the west of the B6275, largely hidden behind a hedge, just below the brow of a hill. There is a small car park immediately to the north, at the crossroads of the B6275 with roads to Bolam to the west and Houghton Bank to the east. A footpath with stile leading to Brownhouse Lane is at the southern end of the car park, although in summer can be hidden by tall weeds. Once at the footpath sign, the cross is clearly visible against the hedge line 40 metres to the south.
At first glance the cross appears to be three large lumps of modern concrete which form an obelisk, similar to the shaft of an old preaching cross, but on closer inspection it is made of sandstone and very old and worn. This grade II listed structure also appears to sit at the eastern edge of a circular mound which stands out against the large, flat field.
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