Malmesbury Market Cross facts for kids
The Malmesbury Market Cross is a very old and beautiful stone building in the town of Malmesbury, England. It was built in the late 1400s and is considered a very important historical structure. People used it as a shelter for market traders.
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What is the Malmesbury Market Cross?
The Malmesbury Market Cross stands right in the middle of the town. It was built around 1490. People think some of the stone might have come from the nearby Malmesbury Abbey, which was partly ruined around that time.
This building is a fancy, eight-sided structure. It shows off the Perpendicular Period style, which was popular in English architecture from the late 1300s to the mid-1500s. It's known for its tall, slender features and large windows. The Malmesbury Market Cross is one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind in England. Because it's so important, it was made a Grade I listed building in 1949. This means it's a building of exceptional historical interest.
Features of the Cross
The cross has detailed carvings. You can still see a carving of the Crucifixion (Jesus on the cross) and figures of several saints. These carvings survived the English Reformation, a time in the 1500s when many religious images were removed or destroyed. The lower spots where figures once stood are now empty.
Inside, the roof has a special design called a lierne vaulted roof. This means it has decorative ribs that don't just support the roof but also create cool patterns. Where these ribs meet, there are carved bosses (decorative knobs). A central column supports the roof, and stone seats are built around it. There's also a low wall or bench across most of the outside arches.
The building is over 40 feet (about 12 meters) tall. Today, people sometimes call it "the Birdcage" because of how it looks. It's still used by market traders during the day and is a popular meeting spot at night.
An Old Description of the Cross
A writer named John Leland visited Malmesbury in 1542. He wrote about the market cross, describing it like this:
Malmesbury has a good, lively market every Saturday. There is a very fair and costly piece of work in the market place, made all of stone and wonderfully vaulted. It's for poor market folks to stand dry when rain comes. There are 8 great pillars and 8 open arches, and the work is 8-sided. One great pillar in the middle holds up the vault. The people of the town made this work in living memory.
History of Repairs
The Malmesbury Market Cross has been repaired several times over the years. It was first fixed up around 1800. Later repairs happened between 1909 and 1912, and again from 1949 to 1950.
In 1879, a group called the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings looked at the cross. They wrote a report about the repairs needed, but it's not fully clear what work was done at that time.
Sadly, one of the decorative top parts, called a pinnacle, was knocked off by a large truck not long ago. You can now see this piece in the Athelstan Museum in Malmesbury.
Other Similar Buildings
The Malmesbury Market Cross is a great example of a covered market cross. Another even more detailed one, built in a similar style, is the Chichester Cross. The town of Ipswich also used to have a market cross, but it was built in a lighter, more modern style for its time. That one only exists now in old pictures.
