Mercat cross

A mercat cross is a structure used in Scottish settlements to denote a market square. It historically indicated that the settlement had been granted the right to hold a regular market or fair by the monarch, a bishop or a baron; the cross therefore served as a symbol of authority, and was an indication of a burgh's relative prosperity. Some burghs had more than one cross, often named for the produce sold at their base.

There are around 126 known examples of mercat crosses in Scotland, with many examples dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Scottish crosses are distinct from market crosses found elsewhere in the United Kingdom in form and iconography.

History

The earliest documentary reference occurs in the reign of William the Lion (1165–1214), when it was decreed that "all merchandises sal be presentit at the mercat and mercat croce of burghis". Early town crosses may have continued the tradition of church crosses used to mark consecrated land or sanctuary boundaries, and functioned similarly to early ecclesiastical crosses, from before the building of stone churches, in marking a communal gathering place. They are thought to have been originally pillars of wood, possibly placed on stone bases, changing to stone pillars in later centuries. Some, as at Inverkeithing, incorporate sundials (the pillar of each cross itself acts as a primitive sundial).

The cross was the place around which market stalls would be arranged, and where 'merchants' (Scots for shopkeepers as well as wholesale traders) would gather to discuss business.