Cross & Hand
Early-attested site in the Parish of Batcombe
Historical Forms
- Cross-in-hand 1811 OS
- Cross Hand Stone 1838 TAMap
- Cross in Hand, the Cross and Hand 1870 Hutch3
Etymology
Cross & Hand (ST 632038), Cross-in -hand 1811 OS, Cross Hand Stone 1838TAMap , Cross in Hand , the Cross and Hand 1870 Hutch3, a stone on the Batcombe-Sydling St N. par. bdy, cf. the identical name Cross-in- Hand Sx 406 and the possibly analogous Handcross Sx 278 and Handy Cross Bk 202 which have been variously explained. According to the account in Hutch3 4 500 'This stone has been rudely carved into the form of a pillar…The west or flattened side of capital has a rudely carved sinister hand; the opposite side had probably a dexter hand', v. further J. Stephens Cox, Thomas Hardy Year Book 1 (1970). Its situation near the NE corner of the par. where no less than four pars. and five tracks meet may also be significant, cf. the suggestion 'cross-roads where five roads meet' (with reference to the five digits of the hand) for Handcross Sx in Mills DBPN s.n.