The High Cross
Aberlady Heritage is supported by:
The Reconstruction
With support from Tyne Esk LEADER and East Lothian Council, Aberlady Conservation and History Society has commissioned a reconstruction of the Northumbrian high cross erected in the settlement around 720AD. This was erected in the village Memorial Garden (adjacent to the Kirk) in September 2011, with the following unveiling ceremony taking place on 6 December 2011.
Please take the time to record your visit in one of our two Visitors' Books. These are located in Duck's Restaurant and Rooms in our Main Street and at the Townhouse B&B at the east end of the village. Your comments are greatly appreciated.
The Aberlady Cross
Erected 30 September 2011
|
Constructing an interpretation of how the original high cross may have appeared when it first stood overlooking Aberlady Bay, based on the evidence of one remaining fragment, may have seemed an impossible challenge.
However, research on a contemporary Northumbrian cross at Abercorn (West Lothian), from where the Anglo Saxon Bishop Trumwin administered to the Picts, proved to be a significant breakthrough. The report concluded with the probability that the same hand carved both.
|
Abercorn fragments Copyright Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland |
As there are three remaining fragments of the Abercorn cross it was possible to complete a design of how the original high cross at Aberlady may have appeared all of thirteen centuries ago.
Design for the High Cross Reconstruction
Design drawing by Barry Grove
Where a gap in our knowledge remained, the design for the reconstruction borrows from contemporary Bewcastle cross the figure of Jesus standing on the heads of beasts in the desert. It is likely that the Aberlady cross included a carving of Christ and it may well have been this one as it appears too on the Ruthwell carving.
Complete with Base Stone
|
|
Copyright Trustees of the National Museum of Scotland Using exact dimensions, the design of the reconstruction replicates the artwork of the Aberlady fragment exactly where it would have been carved in the original stone 1300 years earlier. |
Research by the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) indicates that the deeply and neatly drilled holes present in the eyes of the birds, beasts, and figures of the original Aberlady fragment would have originally contained small insets. This is a recognised feature of Anglo-Saxon sculpture from the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. Closer to home, it occurs on related pieces from Abercorn (West Lothian) and Jedburgh (Scottish Borders).
To the knowledge of NMS, there has been no previous attempt to reconstruct the original appearance of these sculptures and certainly none with eye insets in place. The Aberlady project provided a unique opportunity to see once again how the orginal cross must have looked when it was erected 1300 years ago.
This project was part-financed by the Scottish Government and European Community Tyne Esk Leader Programme 2007-2013. Aberlady Conservation and History Society also gratefully acknowledges the support of the National Museum of Scotland and the British Library.
|
|
|
|
Aberlady designs
Aberlady designs created 1300 years ago are now available in high quality gifts and mementos