Job Cross

On Moorsholm Moor. Perhaps one of the North York Moors most elusive crosses. Job Cross stands 30 metres or so north of the modern track designated as a Public Right of Way open to all traffic but once found it becomes obvious from quite a way off. The modern route must have been diverted slightly to avoid the boggy ground, probably when the turnpike route from Stokesley to Whitby was established in the 18th-century. Apparently, there is some evidence in the form of a hollowing of the old route. The cross itself looks modern, that is 17/18th-century but it is standing in a recessed base which has the weather-worn look of stonework much older.

There is a couple of suggestions for the origin of the name. One, a corruption of the name Hob, which was a mischievous imp or hobgoblin. ‘Hob’ appears in many names in the North York moors, Hob Cross, Hob Hole to name but two. Another theory is that it was originally Jub.