Fowlis Wester

NN 928240   52   HS   PH7 3NL

On minor road off A85, 5 miles E of Crieff, Perthshire.

thecastlesofscotland.co.uk

This Class 2 cross-slab, known as the Cross of Fowlis, over 3 metres tall, now stands inside Fowlis Wester Parish Church, with an excellent replica on the original site in the village. The front shows a tall cross, with carved decoration inside the arms. There are faint traces of animals and birds at the base. On the back are several horsemen, probably in a hunt as one carries a hawk, riding across the stone beneath a double disc. There is also a strange procession, headed by a man in a long robe, leading a cow with a bell round its neck, followed by six figures. A crescent and v-rod sits next to a bird, possibly an eagle, and at the very bottom a monster is devouring a man. The iron chain attached to the stone is probably the remains of a jougs, an iron collar to which petty criminals would be attached for public ridicule, a practice which continued from medieval times to the 18th and possibly early 19th century.