This cross stands on the left of the R150 going into Duleek from the northeast.
That's its current position, but it has travelled a lot in and around Duleek in the past four centuries.
The cross was erected by William Moore, who was a landowner from Downstown, in loving memory of his wife Thomasina Berford who died on December 17th, 1635, as stated in the faint and weathered inscription across the arms and along the shaft on the northwest (310°) side of the cross, which reads "IHS PRAY FOR THE SOULES OF THOMASSINA BERFORD FIRST WIFE TO BERTHELEME MOUR OF DOWANSTOWNE WHO DIED THE 17 OF DECEMBER 1635".
It was originally erected as a wayside cross in Downstown, about a mile west-northwest of Duleek. Due to a road improvement, about a century later it was thought to move it to the Duleek Churchyard, but it was eventually placed behind the Courthouse, where weeds and brambles concealed it. In 1867, the cross was moved to the west gable of the Catholic church where it stayed until 1981, when it was moved the the present position.
It's a Pattee style cross, with enlarged terminals, and stands on a plinth with a plaque on the northwest side, which reads "The Berford Cross 1635. Erected on a site nearby by Duleek Historical Society April 1969. Re-erected on this site July 1981".
The cross is 1.35 metres tall, 73.5 centimetres wide at the arms and 21.5 centimetres wide at the shaft, and is 12.5 centimetres thick. The plinth is 67 centimetres tall, to a total height of 2.02 metres.
This was our last visit for the year 2018.
|