On a day that turned out so dreich that even a duck would not be happy, a tramp across Fylingdales Moor to Lilla Cross might have seemed a good idea when we set off. No wind whistled across the heather, but instead there were faint echoes of woeful cries that must have reverberated through the centuries. From a time when Lilla, a devoted minister-cum-servant of Edwin, the King of Deira and Bernica, had the courage to fling himself between his royal highness and a would-be assassin’s blade1Elliot, Albert. [n.d.]. Lilla Cross on Fylingdales Moor <https://www.nyma.org.uk/_webedit/uploaded-files/All%20Files/History%20Tree/33%201955%20Lilla%20Cross%20on%20Fylingdales%20Moor.pdf> [accessed 18 August 2023].
It was the eve of Easter in the year 626, and the stage was set for an assassination. A rival ruler from the West Saxons decided that the best way to solve his diplomatic differences with Edwin, the King of Deira and Bernica (soon to be Northumbria), was to send a blade-wielding messenger of death. Armed with a double-edged, toxin-laden dagger, the assassin lunged at Edwin.
But our hero, Lilla, wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill manservant; with perhaps more bravado than common sense, he launched himself in front of Edwin like a human shield, ready to embrace the deadly embrace of that sinister blade. The dagger found its mark, sealing Lilla’s fate, and he dropped dead on the spot, a true martyr to the cause of saving his liege.
Of course, the would-be assassin’s career prospects took a bit of a nosedive thereafter as Edwin’s loyal troops quickly killed him. And what did the King himself do in response to Lilla’s ultimate act of loyalty? Well, he didn’t just shed a tear and call it a day. He was so moved, so utterly gobsmacked by Lilla’s valour, that he declared, “By the beard of Beowulf, this deed deserves a monument!” (or something to that effect).
And so, Lilla Cross was erected as a beacon of loyalty and bravery precisely at the spot where all the drama had unfolded. Edwin, in his kingly wisdom, decreed that Lilla’s mortal remains should rest beneath this very monument, ensuring that he’d be forever wedded to the land he gave his life to save.
Fast forward to the 10th century, when the cross we now know as Lilla Cross was erected, the oldest cross on the North Yorkshire Moors. But it hasn’t been immune to the troubles of modern times. The 20th century, as it often does, brought its own brand of chaos. First, some fool etched “Bland Peel” or “Pell” onto the cross in 1933, no doubt leaving Lilla to roll in his grave2‘The Acts of Vandals | Hull Daily Mail | Tuesday 25 April 1933 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19330425/021/0004> [accessed 18 August 2023]3‘Corresp | Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer | Friday 21 April 1933 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19330421/251/0006> [accessed 18 August 2023]. Then, in 1952, Fylingdales Moor was turned into a military playground, and Lilla Cross was relocated to Silhowe near Goathland to save it from being damaged by gunfire. But there, it was too close to the road, and again subject to the graffiti artists.
In 1962, the Army’s interest in Flylingdales Moor ended, and it was decided that the Sappers, those chaps from the Royal Engineers, would be expert at relocating the one-and-a-half-ton monument. Armed with pickaxes, chisels, and an uncanny resemblance to miners, these experts in controlled destruction set to work. They moved the cross, unshackled it from the concrete clutches of modernity, and gently nestled it back where it belonged, like a mother reuniting with a long-lost child.
Today, as the mists of time swirl around Lilla Cross and its heather moor, it stands as a reminder of a loyal servant’s sacrifice.
- 1Elliot, Albert. [n.d.]. Lilla Cross on Fylingdales Moor <https://www.nyma.org.uk/_webedit/uploaded-files/All%20Files/History%20Tree/33%201955%20Lilla%20Cross%20on%20Fylingdales%20Moor.pdf> [accessed 18 August 2023]
- 2‘The Acts of Vandals | Hull Daily Mail | Tuesday 25 April 1933 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19330425/021/0004> [accessed 18 August 2023]
- 3‘Corresp | Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer | Friday 21 April 1933 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19330421/251/0006> [accessed 18 August 2023]
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