Scène de foire - ca 1400 - BNF Fr12559 f167

A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a

market square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

s, 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. British emigrants often installed such crosses in their new cities, and several can be found in Canada and Australia. 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.

Design

These structures range from carved stone

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

s or

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

es, common to small market towns such as that in Stalbridge, Dorset, to large, ornate covered structures, such as the Chichester Cross, or Malmesbury Market Cross. They can also be constructed from wood; an example is at Wymondham, Norfolk.

Towns and villages in Great Britain with a market cross

A

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

* Aberford * Abbots Bromley * Aldbourne * Alfriston * Alnwick * Alston *

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern headwater) of Windermere, England's lar ...

* Ashbourne * Austwick (Base and pillar remaining) * Askrigg * Austwick * Aylburton

B

* Banbury * Barnard Castle * Barrow upon Humber *

Bawtry Bawtry is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It lies between Doncaster, Gainsborough and Retford, on the border with Nottinghamshire and close to Lincolnshire. The town is historically part of ...

Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town o ...

* Belford *

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

Billesdon Billesdon is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of 745 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 901 at the 2011 census. It is just off the A47, nine miles east of Leicester. ...

(x2) * Bingham *

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley ra ...

Binham Binham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is north west of Norwich, west of Cromer and north north east of London. The village lies east south east of the town of Wells-next-the-Sea. The neares ...

Bishops Lydeard Bishops Lydeard () is a village and civil parish located in Somerset, England, north-west of Taunton in the district of Somerset West and Taunton. The civil parish encompasses the hamlets of East Lydeard, Terhill, and East Bagborough, and had a ...

Bodenham Bodenham is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, and on a bend in the River Lugg, about seven miles south of Leominster. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,024, reducing to 998 at the 2011 census. The vil ...

* Bonsall * Boroughbridge *

Bottesford, Leicestershire Bottesford is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It lies in the Vale of Belvoir and forms part of the Borough of Melton, as its largest village, on the borders of Leicestershire with Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. L ...

Bourton, Vale of White Horse Bourton is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about southeast of Highworth in neighbouring Wiltshire. The western boundary of the parish is a stream that also forms the county boundary. Bourton was part of the parish of S ...

* Bovey Tracey *

Brandesburton Brandesburton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Hornsea and north-east of the market town of Beverley. The civil parish is formed by the village of Brandesburton and ...

* Brigstock *

Bromborough Bromborough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south east of Bebington and to the north of East ...

* Brough (Original block and socket remaining) * Buckingham * Bungay *

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

* Bedlington * Bury St. Edmunds * Burton-in-Kendal * Buxton

C

* Caldbeck *

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

* Castle Combe *

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands ( ...

* Cheadle, Staffordshire * Cheddar *

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

Chipping Sodbury Chipping Sodbury is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sodbury, in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in the 12th century by William ...

* Chipping Warden *

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne ...

Clowne Clowne is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2001 Census was 7,447 increasing to 7,590 (and including Harlesthorpe) at the 2011 Census. It forms part of the Bolsover constituency. ...

* Corbridge (x2) *

Corby Glen Corby Glen is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately south-east of the market town of Grantham and 8 miles (13 km) north west of Bourne. History The Church of England par ...

* Corfe Castle *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

* Crich * Cricklade * Culross * Culworth

D

* Dalton-in-Furness * Darlington * Devizes * Dunchurch * Dunkeld *

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is t ...

* Yarn Market, Dunster

E

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Easingwold Easingwold is a market town, electoral ward and civil parish in the Hambleton District in North Yorkshire, England. Historically, part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,233 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,627 at ...

* East Hagbourne *

Elstow Elstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan was born here at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street. History Countess Judith, niece of ...

Emley, West Yorkshire Emley is a village in West Yorkshire, England, between Huddersfield and Wakefield with a population of 1,497 at the last census (2011) It is east of Huddersfield and west of Wakefield. The village dates from Anglo-Saxon times and is on high ...

Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield High ...

* Epworth * Eynsham

F

* Frome

G

* Garstang *

Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, lies on the B6480 road, less than north-west of the town of Settle and divided from it by the River Ribble. It is the site of Giggleswick School ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

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 ...

* Glossop *

Grampound with Creed Grampound with Creed ( kw, Ponsmeur a'byth Sen Krida) is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The two major settlements in the parish are the ancient town of Grampound and the smaller village of Creed ( kw, Krida). The large ...

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmar ...

H

* Harringworth *

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale o ...

Helpston Helpston (also, formerly, "Helpstone") is an English village formerly in the Soke of Peterborough, geographically in Northamptonshire, subsequently (1965–1974) in Huntingdon and Peterborough, then in Cambridgeshire, and administered by the Cit ...

Henley-in-Arden Henley-in-Arden (also known as simply Henley) is a town in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which da ...

* Hereford *

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populat ...

Highburton Highburton is part of the township of Kirkburton, a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is five miles southeast of Huddersfield. It occupies much of the high ground that can be found at the top of the steep inclines of Far Dene a ...

* Hillmorton *

Hooton Pagnell Hooton Pagnell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with West Yorkshire. It lies on the B6422 road, between Brodsworth and South Elmsall and is at an elevation of aroun ...

* Howden * Holsworthy *

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

* Hunmanby

I

* Ilchester * Irthlingborough

K

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

King Sterndale King Sterndale is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is located in the Peak District, 4 miles east of Buxton. It has a population of about 30, increasing to 133 at the 2011 Census. The two hamlets of Cowdale and Staden also li ...

* King's Cliffe * Kirkby in Ashfield * Kirkby Lonsdale (x2) * Kirkby Malzeard * Kirkbymoorside *

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

L

* Lambourn * Launceston, Cornwall * Lavenham * Leek *

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

* Leigh, Greater Manchester *

Leighton–Linslade Leighton–Linslade is a civil parish in the district of Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England, with a population of 37,469 at the 2011 Census. History Leighton-Linslade Urban District was formed in 1965 by the merger of Leighton Buz ...

* Leighton Buzzard * Lerwick *

Lower Holker Lower Holker is a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. It includes the villages of Cark and Flookburgh, the hamlets of Holker, Ravenstown and Sand Gate, and historic Holker Hall. In the 2001 census th ...

* Lund, East Riding of Yorkshire *

Lydney Lydney is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been bypassed by the A48 road since 199 ...

* Lyneham, Wiltshire

M

* Maiden Newton * Maltby, South Yorkshire * Mark, Somerset * Market Deeping * Malmesbury *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

* Mansfield Woodhouse *

Martock Martock is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels north west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish includes Hurst, approximately one mile south of the village, and B ...

Masham Masham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,205 at the 2011 census. Etymology In Wensleydale, on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from t ...

* Maybole *

Melbourne, Derbyshire Melbourne () is a market town and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. It was home to Thomas Cook, and has a street named after him. It is south of Derby and from the River Trent. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census ...

Metheringham Metheringham is an English village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 3,605. It is about south of the city and county town of Lincoln and north of Sleaf ...

Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River ...

* Middleton-in-Teesdale * Mildenhall * Milnthorpe * Minchinhampton *

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National ...

* Monk Bretton *

Mountsorrel Mountsorrel is a village in Leicestershire on the River Soar, just south of Loughborough with a population in 2001 of 6,662 inhabitants, increasing to 8,223 at the 2011 census. Geography The village is in the borough of Charnwood, surround ...

N

* Newcastle-under-Lyme *

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-larges ...

* Newport, Shropshire * Newsham, Richmondshire * Newton Abbot *

North Frodingham North Frodingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south-east of the town of Driffield and lies on the B1249 road. The civil parish is formed by the ...

North Kyme North Kyme is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The civil parish had a population of 431 at the 2011 census. It is situated on the A153 road The A153 is a non-primary A road entirely i ...

North Turton North Turton is a civil parish of the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 the civil parish has a population of 3,736, increasing to 3,867 at the 2011 Census. North Tu ...

* North Tawton * North Walsham *

New Buckenham New Buckenham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The parish covers an area of and had a population of 468 in 197 households at the 2001 census, falling marginally to a population of 460 in 209 households at the 20 ...

* Northallerton * Nunney

O

* Oakenshaw * Oakham Market Cross * Old Cross, Old Glossop * Overthorpe, West Yorkshire

P

* Pembroke * Penryn, Cornwall *

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

* Poulton-le-Fylde

Q

* Quainton

R

Reach, Cambridgeshire Reach is a small village and civil parish on the edge of the fenland in East Cambridgeshire, England at the north end of Devil's Dyke, about west of Burwell. History Reach was an important economic centre in early Anglo-Saxon and Viking ...

* Repton * Ripley, North Yorkshire *

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...

Rockingham, Northamptonshire Rockingham is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. Close to the border of Leicestershire and Rutland, the village is largely connected to the town of Corby where various local organisations utilise the ''Rockingham'' n ...

* Rothesay * Rutherglen

S

* Saffron Walden *

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

* Sedgemoor * Selby * Shap * Shepton Mallet * Somerton *

Spilsby Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegnes ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

* Stalbridge *

Stamfordham Stamfordham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 1,047, rising to 1,185 at the 2011 Census. The place-name ''Stamfordham'' is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for ...

* Standish, Greater Manchester * Stanhope, County Durham (x2) *

Steeple Ashton Steeple Ashton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, east of Trowbridge. In the north of the parish are the hamlets of Ashton Common and Bullenhill. Name and history Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Steeple Ashton ...

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimat ...

* Stow-on-the-Wold * Stretham * Sturminster Newton * Swaffham * Swineshead, Lincolnshire * Swinton (Berwickshire)

T

Tattershall Tattershall is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, east from the point where that road crosses the River Witham. At its eastern end, Tatte ...

* Thornton-le-Dale * Tickhill

U

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from ...

W

* Wainfleet All Saints * Wantage * Warkworth, Northumberland * Wedmore * Wells * West Bedlington * West Burton * West Malling, Kent *

Weston, Runcorn Weston or Weston Village is a settlement in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Formerly a separate village, it is now part of the town of Runcorn. Geography Weston overlooks the Mersey river, and is separated from a large Ineos (formerly ...

Whittlesey Whittlesey (also Whittlesea) is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England. Whittlesey is east of Peterborough. The population of the parish was 16,058 at the 2011 Census. History and architecture ...

* Wigtown (x2) * Williton (x2) * Winchester *

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

Woodhouse, South Yorkshire Woodhouse ward—which includes the district of Woodhouse and most of Handsworth—is one of the 28 electoral wards in the City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southeastern part of the city and covers an area of . The po ...

* Wymondham Aberdeen Market Cross.jpg,

Bedale.jpg,

Carlisle Market Cross 6409708 3d6e1b07.jpg,

Chichester_Cross,_c.1831.png,

Highburton_Cross.jpg,

Maybolecross.jpg, Maybole Salisbury Market 20040724.jpg,

Somerset sm market.jpg, Shepton Mallet cmglee_Wymondham_Market_Cross.jpg, Wymondham

Notes

References

{{Christian crosses Market towns Types of monuments and memorials Crosses by function *

History

Design

Towns and villages in Great Britain with a market cross

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

W

See also

Notes

References