Glastonbury Market Cross is a

market cross 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 ...

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, England. Erected in 1846, it was designed by the English architect

Benjamin Ferrey Benjamin Ferrey FSA FRIBA (1 April 1810–22 August 1880) was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival. Family Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr (1779–1847), a draper who became Mayor of Christc ...

and has been a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

structure since 1950.

History

Glastonbury's cross replaced an earlier structure of early 16th century origin, described as having been "of some antiquity", octagonal with clustered pillars, a central column and a roof. It fell into a state of disrepair and was demolished around 1806. Later in the 19th century, T. Porch, the proprietor of Glastonbury Abbey, proposed that a new market cross be erected on the same site. It was erected in 1846 under the supervision of Ferrey and has most recently undergone restoration in 2005.

Design

Glastonbury Cross is built of Bath stone in a

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

style and has a height of 38 feet. It has an octagonal base supporting a spirelet, which is embellished with ornamental work and tracery. Reporting on the cross in 1846, ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'' described it as an "elegant structure" and a "great ornament to the town" with a "noble and imposing appearance". They added: "It is of a mixed style of architecture, conceived upon the outline of the famous conduit at Rouen, and from the elegant crosses of Geddington and Waltham".

References

{{Commons category, Glastonbury Market Cross Glastonbury Grade II listed buildings in Mendip District Market crosses in England