The Little Cross is a monument in Elgin, Scotland, located at end of the city's High Street. It marks the boundary between secular Elgin and the religious Chanonry, a part of the town that had historically been given over to ecclesiastical governance under the Bishops of Moray.[1][2] The Elgin Museum, one of the oldest in the country, is directly adjacent to the structure. The name 'Little Cross' differentiates it from Elgin's 'Muckle Cross' (Scots: Large Cross[3]), the name of the town's market cross.[4]
The Little Cross
Muckle Cross (historic)
The Little Cross, seen to the left of the Elgin Museum.
At the base of the structure is a round plinth with four steps, upon which is mounted a stone shaft roughly 15 feet (4.6 m) feet in height, topped by an ioniccapital. The capital supports a four-sided sundial, above which is the fifteenth-century finial, believed to depict St. Giles on one side and the Madonna and child on the other. The cross is located in the middle of a roundabout at the intersection of High Street and the North and South College Streets.[5][6]
Historyedit
The cross was erected in 1733,[7] but its carved finial may date from an original cross on the site, which was built in 1402 by Alexander Macdonald, third son of the Lord of the Isles, to atone for his attack on and theft from the Elgin Cathedral.[5] W At the time of its construction it was substantially taller than structure today, and had a spiral staircase leading up it; however, it fell into disrepair, and the staircase and much of the structure itself collapsed. It was restored in 1867 without the sundial; a replica was erected in 1941 and the remains of the old cross are in the neighbouring Elgin Museum.[7]
^McKean, Charles (1987). The District of Moray – An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press and RIAC Publishing. pp. 14–18. ISBN1873190484.
^Mackintosh, Lachlan (1891). Elgin, Past and Present: A Guide and History. Black, Walker & Grassie.
^"Muckle". Scottish National Dictionary. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
^"Elgin from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
^ abWalker, David W.; Woodworth, Matthew (2015). The Buildings of Scotland - Aberdeenshire: North and Moray. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 598. ISBN978-0-300-20428-5.
^"Morayshire, volume 12 | ScotlandsPlaces". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
^ abc"HIGH STREET, LITTLE CROSS (LB30709)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
January 01, 1970
little, cross, monument, elgin, scotland, located, city, high, street, marks, boundary, between, secular, elgin, religious, chanonry, part, town, that, historically, been, given, over, ecclesiastical, governance, under, bishops, moray, elgin, museum, oldest, c. The Little Cross is a monument in Elgin Scotland located at end of the city s High Street It marks the boundary between secular Elgin and the religious Chanonry a part of the town that had historically been given over to ecclesiastical governance under the Bishops of Moray 1 2 The Elgin Museum one of the oldest in the country is directly adjacent to the structure The name Little Cross differentiates it from Elgin s Muckle Cross Scots Large Cross 3 the name of the town s market cross 4 The Little CrossMuckle Cross historic The Little Cross seen to the left of the Elgin Museum 57 38 56 N 3 18 36 W 57 64889 N 3 31000 W 57 64889 3 31000LocationHigh Street in ElginDesignerAlexander MacDonaldTypeRound stone shaft capped by an Ionic capital Width6 8 feetHeight15 feetCompletion date1733Restored date1867Description editAt the base of the structure is a round plinth with four steps upon which is mounted a stone shaft roughly 15 feet 4 6 m feet in height topped by an ionic capital The capital supports a four sided sundial above which is the fifteenth century finial believed to depict St Giles on one side and the Madonna and child on the other The cross is located in the middle of a roundabout at the intersection of High Street and the North and South College Streets 5 6 History editThe cross was erected in 1733 7 but its carved finial may date from an original cross on the site which was built in 1402 by Alexander Macdonald third son of the Lord of the Isles to atone for his attack on and theft from the Elgin Cathedral 5 W At the time of its construction it was substantially taller than structure today and had a spiral staircase leading up it however it fell into disrepair and the staircase and much of the structure itself collapsed It was restored in 1867 without the sundial a replica was erected in 1941 and the remains of the old cross are in the neighbouring Elgin Museum 7 The Little Cross was designated as a scheduled monument in 1963 and as a Category A listed building in 1971 it was descheduled in 2016 but retains its Category A listing 7 References edit McKean Charles 1987 The District of Moray An Illustrated Architectural Guide Edinburgh Scottish Academic Press and RIAC Publishing pp 14 18 ISBN 1873190484 Mackintosh Lachlan 1891 Elgin Past and Present A Guide and History Black Walker amp Grassie Muckle Scottish National Dictionary Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd Archived from the original on 9 December 2019 Retrieved 7 February 2020 Elgin from The Gazetteer for Scotland www scottish places info Archived from the original on 18 December 2019 Retrieved 4 February 2020 a b Walker David W Woodworth Matthew 2015 The Buildings of Scotland Aberdeenshire North and Moray New Haven Yale University Press p 598 ISBN 978 0 300 20428 5 Morayshire volume 12 ScotlandsPlaces scotlandsplaces gov uk Retrieved 5 February 2020 a b c HIGH STREET LITTLE CROSS LB30709 portal historicenvironment scot Archived from the original on 31 January 2020 Retrieved 4 February 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Little Cross amp oldid 1187695283, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
