Hoddom

Abstract

HODDOM lies in Dumfriesshire on the east bank of the Annan, about 10miles from the Solway. The valley, which now carries the main road and the railway from Carlisle to the north, has always been an important line of communication and Hoddom lies at a point where the river is easily passable. The name first appears in records of the 12th century, when the church of Hoddom was claimed as a possession of the See of Glasgow. But the importance of the site is far older as is shown by the magnificent series of crosses, illustrated in this article. The tradition of Glasgow would carry the story of Hoddom even further back, connecting the church with St. Kentigern, the founder of the See. The crosses have been found at various times in and around the site of the demolished parish church. The finest pieces, after a chequered history, unhappily disappeared during the second world war. It has therefore seemed desirable to publish a rather fuller record of the more important monuments, illustrating them with the excellent series of photographs taken by Dr 0. G. S. Crawford in 1936, when they were preserved at Hoddom Castle1. I am much indebted to Dr Crawford, who suggested the prepara- tion of this account and placed at my disposal his series of photographs. At Hoddom I had the assistance of Mr R. C. Reid, who made arrangements with the Dumfriesshire County Council and the Church of Scotland for the removal to the Burgh Museum of Dumfries of the later stones, which still lay in the kirkyard. In the course of unearthing stones half buried in the soil, opportunity was taken to re-examine the masonry of the medieval church. I would express my best thanks to Mr Reid and to all others con- cerned, to Mr A. E. Truckell, Curator of the Burgh Museum, and Miss B. Blanche for assistance in the preparation for publication of the later stones ; the drawings of the later stones are by Miss Blanche. Fig. I is reproduced, by kind permission of the Ashmolean Museum, from the late W. G. Collingwood's original drawing (Northumbrian Crosses of the Pre-Norman Age, fig, 51).