310 Merkland Cross. 



Merkland Cross. By Mr George Irving, Corbridge-on-Tyne. 



(Another interesting paper on the Rere Cross by Mr 

 Irving is not published on account of the pressure of matter.) 



This fine floriated cross of the latter half of the fifteenth 

 century stands at Merkland, on the east side of the Kirtle, about 

 550 yards from Woodhouse Tower, in the parish of Kirkpatrick- 

 Fleming. It is almost on the line of the old Roman road that 

 led up Annandale. The floriated cross at the top of the shaft is 

 2 feet 4 inches high, the shaft 7 feet 10 inches, and the base 

 about 2 feet 10 inches long by 16 inches high above ground. 

 The lower end of the shaft is 13 inches broad by 7 inches thick 

 and slightly tapered and chamfered to the top. It is made of 

 the red sandstone of the district, and must have been very care- 

 fully selected to have stood the storms of four centuries. There 

 is no inscription upon it, but there are good grounds for believing 

 that it was erected in memory of John, Master of Maxwell, Caer- 

 laverock and Maines. In July, 1484, the Duke of Albany and 

 James, ninth and last Earl of Douglas, invaded Scotland from 

 England to wrest the crown from James III. They marched 

 into Dumfriesshire and reached Hoddom unopposed, and en- 

 camped at Birrenswark — possibly on the old Roman camp. A 

 small part of the force pushed on to Lochmaben, announcing 

 their intention to deposit offerings on the High Altar of the 

 Church of Bruce's Burgh. The Master of Maxwell, Johnstone 

 of Johnstone, Murray of Cockpeel (one of the ancestors of the 

 present Earl of Mansfield), Crichton of Sanquhar (an ancestor 

 of the Marquis of Bute), Carruthers of Holmains, and Charteris 

 of Amisfield, led the Dumfriesians, and met the invaders near 

 Lochmaben. The battle is said to have lasted all day; but when 

 Musgrave and his men at Birrenswark saw his friends retreating, 

 hotly pursued by Maxwell and his men, they fled to the south. 

 The last part of the skirmish seems to have taken place on the 

 south and east side of the Kirtle. Douglas was captured, but 

 Albany, with the remnant of his followers, escaped during the 

 night into Cumberland. 



The death of Maxwell is recorded in an old manuscript : — 

 " The Duke of Albanie and the Earl of Douglas, being rebells to 

 King James the Fourth, brought ane army out of Ingland upon 



