Legs Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross in the parish of Bolam,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England, about north of Piercebridge on the

Pilgrims' Way A pilgrims' way or pilgrim way is a standard route that pilgrims take when they go on a pilgrimage in order to reach their destination – usually a holy site or place of worship. These sites may be towns or cities of special significance such a ...

(the modern B6275 and the old Roman road of

Dere Street Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman roads, Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond int ...

). It is a Grade II* listed structure, and a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. It was probably erected in the 9th century. The

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

cross is now eroded to an high obelisk-like structure, on a triangular base. Some interlaced patterning remains. Although it once had an inscription reading "LEGS X", which was chiselled off post 1966, giving rise to the name. It has been suggested that the cross was constructed from Roman masonry (nearby Piercebridge was once the site of a Roman fort) and that the inscription may have originally celebrated the 20th Legion (LEGIONIS). Other theories for the origin of name include the fact that "legge" is the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

word meaning "boundary." It has been also suggested that

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

of Scotland (later James I of England) rested here, with his legs crossed, on his way south to claim the English throne.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legg's Cross High crosses in England Monuments and memorials in County Durham Monumental crosses in England Grade II* listed buildings in County Durham Scheduled monuments in County Durham