Old Boundary Marker on Scraith Head

This is one of a series of 5 sandstone boundry markers on the border of County Durham and Cumbria. They date from c.1850 and inscribed "GH" on the west face (Greenwich Hospital), northern face "EC" (probably for Ecclesiastical Commissioners) and east face "DC" (Duke of Cleveland). This one, the most northerly, bears the date "1880", probably referring to confirmation of boundary. They were built to mark land ownership on a lead-rich hillside, and lie on the boundary between Cumbria and County Durham. The 5 boundry stones are Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England.

The Greenwich Hospital Commissioners were a major landowner in Northumberland, Cumbria and elsewhere in England. Following the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, the lands of James Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, were confiscated and after his son died without an heir, the government gifted the estates to the Greenwich Hospital Commissioners in 1735. Greenwich Hospital, in London, had been founded in 1694 as a refuge for disabled seamen, following the naval battle of La Hogue in 1692. Greenwich Hospital continues today as a charity providing support to serving and former serving Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel and their families.

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners, established by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1836, were a body corporate in England and Wales created to manage Church of England assets and use the income to fund the extension of the Church's ministry, particularly in urban areas.

Henry Vane of Raby Castle had become Duke of Cleveland in 1832.