OS1/26/21/61D

Continued entries/extra info

[Page] 61D
The proximity of the Cross to the mound
and lying as it does in a straight line west
of the mound, may have deceived his eye.
As we are talking of Crosses, we may a
s well bestow a word or two upon "Queen
Blearie's Stane" as it was designated by the
Country folks of that neighbourhood
This stone stood on the Farm of Knoc,
midway betwixt Renfrew and Paisley, and
about 240 yards to the west of the present road.
It was an octagonal column, about 10 feet
in height, without any inscription or sculptures
whatsoever. It was inserted in a solid pedestal,
also eight sided, and about six feet in diameter
Part of the shaft was seen by Semple serving
the undignified purpose of a lintel to the barn
door of the farm steading at Knoc: but that
fragment, like the rest of it, has now disappeared.
The pedestal was dug up in the year 1779
and the materials were used to mend fences.
We have conversed with one who assisted in
this peice of wonton sacrilege. From the same
authority we learned with regret, that, had it
not been for the indifference of the ancestor of
the present Mr Campbell of Blythswood, on whose
property the cross stood, that monument might
have remained there to this day. It had become
loosened in the socket, and required a little repair.
The tenant on the farm offered to repair it
for a very slight consideration, this was refused
and time did its work. It either fell, or to
save it from breaking, it was removed and
built into the barn a short time before the
foundations of the Pedestal were dug up.