Medieval market cross immediately east of St Andrew's Church

Reasons for Designation

A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone, mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD). Standing crosses served a variety of functions. In churchyards they served as stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm Sunday. Elsewhere, standing crosses were used within settlements as places for preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between parishes, property, or settlements. A few crosses were erected to commemorate battles. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the scenes of games or recreational activity. Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft often set directly in the ground without a base. The most common form is the stepped cross, in which the shaft is set in a socket stone and raised upon a flight of steps; this type of cross remained current from the 11th to 12th centuries until after the Reformation. Where the cross-head survives it may take a variety of forms, from a lantern-like structure to a crucifix; the more elaborate examples date from the 15th century. Much less common than stepped crosses are spire-shaped crosses, often composed of three or four receding stages with elaborate architectural decoration and/or sculptured figures; the most famous of these include the Eleanor crosses, erected by Edward I at the stopping places of the funeral cortege of his wife, who died in 1290. Also uncommon are the preaching crosses which were built in public places from the 13th century, typically in the cemeteries of religious communities and cathedrals, market places and wide thoroughfares; they include a stepped base, buttresses supporting a vaulted canopy, in turn carrying either a shaft and head or a pinnacled spire. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their original location, are considered worthy of protection.

The market cross immediately east of St Andrew's Church is a well-preserved and unusually fine example of a late medieval market cross, standing in its original position at the centre of the village. It is a monument of considerable local importance reflecting the significance of the cloth industry in this area.

Details

The monument includes a medieval market cross situated in the market place of Castle Combe, a small stone built village situated in a deep valley cut into Oolitic limestone by the By Brook. The cross is Listed Grade II. The cross consists of a stone pedestal 1.11m square raised on two steps in the centre of a raised stone platform 6.05m square. A high wooden framed pyramidal stone tiled roof covers the area of the platform. It is supported by four stone piers 1.8m high set at the corners of the platform and a central stone shaft which rises from the pedestal to the apex of the roof. The top of the shaft protrudes from the roof and is capped by a finial. Each side of the pedestal is divided vertically into three panels, each decorated with quatrefoil tracery surrounding roses and shields. There are also shields on the outer angles of the piers. The cross probably dates from the late medieval period when Castle Combe was an important and wealthy settlement based around the cloth industry. It was repaired in 1590 by the inhabitants of the village. The cross once stood adjacent to a market house which was dismantled in about 1840 to widen the road. Castle Combe market ceased to be held in the early years of the 20th century.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

34184

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Scrope, G P, A History of Castle Combe, (1852)

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