Ludlow Buttercross

Ludlow Buttercross
The Buttercross from Broad Street
Type	Market hall
Location	Ludlow, Shropshire
Coordinates	52°22′04″N2°43′09″W / 52.3678°N 2.7191°W / 52.3678; -2.7191
Built	1746
Architect	William Baker of Audlem
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	The Butter Cross, Ludlow
Designated	15 April 1954
Reference no.	1289674
Location of Ludlow Buttercross in Shropshire

The Buttercross in Ludlow, Shropshire, England, is a market hall dating from 1746. Such market halls, or crosses, may derive from the high crosses or free-standing stones of the Early Mediaeval period. In the Middle Ages they were often used as gathering points in the centres of communities, generally as venues for regular markets. Beneath the hall was an open arcade, now partly enclosed, where stalls selling produce could be set up. The Buttercross was designed by a local architect, William Baker of Audlem, and is a Grade I listed building.

History

Market crosses or halls can be found in the centres of many British towns and cities. ^[1] Although their origins are unclear, they are generally believed to derive from the High crosses or free-standing stones of the Early Mediaeval period. ^{[1] [a]} In the Middle Ages they frequently became the focal point for marketplaces, where communities gathered to trade. ^[3] Historic England suggests that the presence of a cross in a marketplace may have served to “validate transactions”. ^[4] James Masschaele, in his study, The Public Space of the Marketplace in Medieval England, notes that marketplaces also served an important social function as a location for the “retailing of news and gossip”. ^[5] Their religious associations led to many crosses being damaged or destroyed during the Reformation and in the aftermath of the Civil War. ^{[6] [7]}

The Ludlow Buttercross dates from 1746. ^{[8] [9]} Its architect, William Baker (1705–1771) was active in Shropshire and its adjacent counties in the middle of the 18th century. In Ludlow, and elsewhere, a major patron was Henry Herbert, later created Earl of Powis, who sat as member of parliament for the Ludlow constituency, and served on the town's council and as the county's Lord Lieutenant. ^{[10] [b]} As well as providing the venue for the town's market, the Buttercross housed the town's council chamber on its upper floor. The council moved out to the Guildhall in 2012, and the Buttercross is now occupied by the town's museum. ^[13]

Architecture and description

The Buttercross is of two storeys and three bays fronted by a portico, with a pedimented roof and a clock set into a cupola above. The building material is cut stone from the Grinshill quarry in the north of the county. ^[8] Baker clearly took the design from plates illustrating James Gibbs' Book of Architecture, published in 1728. ^[8] The bell in the cupola was acquired from the old St Leonard's Church on Corve Street. ^[9] John Newman, in the revised Shropshire volume in The Buildings of England series published in 2006, said of Baker's work at the Buttercross; "[while] not polished, it has an attractiveness robustness". ^[8]

Notes

1. The Scottish Mercat cross is of similar origin. ^[2]
2. In addition to ensuring Baker received the contract for the Ludlow Buttercross, Herbert secured Baker's appointment as the architect of Montgomery Town Hall, ^[11] as well as employing him privately at Oakly Park, and later Powis Castle. ^[12]

References

1. Green, Edward. "Stone Crosses". Building Conservation.com. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
2. "Mercat Cross". Scotland Starts Here. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
3. Walker, Peter (19 March 2010). "The story behind market crosses". Malton Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
4. Historic England. "Market cross in the market place, Shepton Mallet (Grade SM) (1019974)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
5. Masschaele 2002, p. 383.
6. "History of Binham Market Cross". English Heritage. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
7. "Chichester's Market Cross". Novium Museum. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
8. Newman & Pevsner 2006, p. 373.
9. Historic England. "The Buttercross, or Cross, Ludlow (Grade I) (1289674)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 2 November 2024.
10. "Herbert, Henry Arthur (c.1703-72), of Oakley Park, Montgomeryshire". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
11. Cadw. "Montgomery Town Hall (Grade II*) (7974)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
12. Historic England. "Oakly Park (Grade II*) (1001131)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 2 November 2024.
13. "Ludlow Museum at the Buttercross". Ludlow Museum. Retrieved 2 November 2024.

Sources

• Masschaele, James (April 2002). "The Public Space of the Marketplace in Medieval England". Journal of the Medieval Academy of America. 77 (2): 383–412. doi:10.2307/3301326. JSTOR   3301326. S2CID   162569055.
• Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006). Shropshire. The Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-12083-7.