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Market cross
Structure marking a market square From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron.
History
Market crosses were originally from the distinctive tradition in Early Medieval Insular art of free-standing stone standing or high crosses, often elaborately carved, which goes back to the 7th century. Market crosses can be found in many market towns in Britain.[1] British emigrants often installed such crosses in their new cities, and several can be found in Canada and Australia.[2]
The market cross could be representing the official site for a medieval town or village market, granted by a charter, or it could have once represented a traditional religious marking at a crossroads.[2]
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Design
These structures range from carved stone spires, obelisks or crosses, common to small market towns such as that in Stalbridge, Dorset,[3] to large, ornate covered structures, such as the Chichester Cross,[4] or Malmesbury Market Cross.[5] They can also be constructed from wood; an example is at Wymondham, Norfolk.[6]
Towns and villages in the British isles with a market cross
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A
B
- Banbury[20]
- Barnard Castle[21]
- Barrow upon Humber[22]
- Bawtry[23][24]
- Bedale[25]
- Belford[26]
- Beverley[27]
- Billesdon (x2)[28][29]
- Bingham[30]
- Bingley[31]
- Binham[32]
- Bishops Lydeard[33]
- Bodenham[34]
- Bonsall[35]
- Boroughbridge[36]
- Bottesford, Leicestershire[37]
- Bourton, Vale of White Horse[38]
- Bovey Tracey[39]
- Brandesburton[40]
- Brigstock[41]
- Bromborough[42]
- Brough (Original block and socket remaining)[43]
- Buckingham[44]
- Bungay[45]
- Burnley[46]
- Bedlington[47]
- Bury St. Edmunds[48]
- Burton-in-Kendal[49]
- Buxton[50]
C
- Caldbeck[51]
- Carlisle[52]
- Castle Combe[53][54]
- Castle Rising[55]
- Chapel-en-le-Frith[56][57]
- Cheadle, Staffordshire[58]
- Cheddar[59][60]
- Chester[61]
- Chichester[62][63]
- Chipping Sodbury
- Chipping Warden[64]
- Colne[65]
- Clowne[66]
- Corbridge (x2)[67][68]
- Corby Glen[69]
- Corfe Castle[70]
- Coventry[nb 1]
- Crich[71]
- Cricklade[72]
- Culross[73]
- Culworth[74]
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
- Maiden Newton
- Maltby, South Yorkshire[126]
- Mark, Somerset[127]
- Market Deeping
- Malmesbury[128]
- Mansfield[129]
- Mansfield Woodhouse[130]
- Martock[131]
- Masham[132]
- Maybole
- Melbourne, Derbyshire[133]
- Metheringham[134]
- Middleham[135][136]
- Middleton-in-Teesdale[137]
- Mildenhall[138]
- Milnthorpe[139]
- Minchinhampton
- Minehead[140]
- Monk Bretton[141]
- Mountsorrel[142]
N
O
P
Q
R
S
- Saffron Walden
- Salisbury
- Sedgemoor[167]
- Selby[168]
- Shap
- Shepton Mallet[169]
- Somerton[170][171]
- Spilsby[172]
- St Albans
- Stalbridge[173]
- Stamfordham
- Standish, Greater Manchester[174]
- Stanhope, County Durham (x2)[175][176][177]
- Steeple Ashton[178]
- Stockton-on-Tees[179][180]
- Stow-on-the-Wold[181]
- Stretham
- Sturminster Newton[182]
- Swaffham[183]
- Swineshead, Lincolnshire[184]
- Swinton (Berwickshire)
T
U
W
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See also
Notes
- This monument, a replacement for a market cross, was demolished in January 2019.
References
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