Oakham Market Cross

Oakham Market Cross
Type	Market cross
Location	Oakham, Rutland
Coordinates	52°40′13″N0°43′42″W / 52.6703°N 0.7282°W / 52.6703; -0.7282 Coordinates: 52°40′13″N0°43′42″W / 52.6703°N 0.7282°W / 52.6703; -0.7282
Built	16th/17th century
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Market Cross
Designated	8 May 1950
Reference no.	1073278
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Stocks
Designated	8 May 1950
Reference no.	1073279
Scheduled monument
Official name	Butter Cross and Stocks
Reference no.	1005068
Location of Oakham Market Cross in Rutland

The Market Cross in Oakham, Rutland, England, is a market cross dating from the 16th or 17th century. Market crosses, also termed Butter 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 cross is a set of stocks. Both are Grade I listed structures and the group forms a Scheduled monument.

History and description

Market crosses 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] [lower-alpha 1]} 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 Oakham Market Cross dates from the 16th or 17th centuries. ^{[8] [9] [lower-alpha 2]} 36 feet (11 m) in diameter, ^[9] a central stone shaft and eight encircling timber posts support a tiled roof. The stocks stand immediately adjacent to the central shaft. ^[10] They are unusual in that they have five openings, ^[11] rather than the more common four or six. ^[12] The cross and the stocks are both Grade I listed structures. ^{[10] [11]} The group forms a Scheduled monument. ^[13]

Notes

1. The Scottish Mercat cross is of similar origin. ^[2]
2. Elizabeth Williamson, in her 2003 revised volume, Leicestershire and Rutland, in the Pevsner Buildings of England series, suggests a date of the "late 17th century". The Victoria County History prefers the late 16th or early 17th centuries as a construction date. ^{[8] [9]}

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. Pevsner & Williamson 2003, p. 499.
9. Page 1935, pp. 5–27.
10. Historic England. "Market Cross (Grade I) (1073278)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
11. Historic England. "Stocks (Grade I) (1073279)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
12. "Oakham Market Cross". BBC News. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
13. Historic England. "Butter Cross and Stocks (Grade SM) (1005068)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 November 2022.

Sources

• Masschaele, James (April 2002). "The Public Space of the Marketplace in Medieval England". Journal of the Medieval Academy of America. 77, No.2: 383–412.
• Page, William (1935). A History of the County of Rutland. Victoria County History. Vol. 2. London: Victoria County History. OCLC   56226839.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (2003). Leicestershire and Rutland. Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN   9780300096187.