An 1815 market cross combines civic inscription, the Home crest, three sundials and an urn finial on the reputed site of an older cross.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1815
- Architect / designer
- Erected for Alexander, Earl of Home; designer and mason not recorded
- Type
- Classical sandstone market cross with sundials
- Designation
- Listed building, Category A (LB4094)
- OS grid reference
- NT 90236 65974
Architecture and continuing use
A stepped circular base carries a square inscribed pedestal and tapering shaft. Above the capital, a square block displays the Earl of Home’s crest to the north and sundials on three other faces, crowned by a stone urn. The compact classical composition is prominent in the village centre.
Its story
Alexander, Earl of Home, commissioned the cross in 1815. The Ordnance Survey Name Book called it a modern erection but recorded local belief that it occupied the ancient cross site. Its inscription preserves the patron’s titles and the date.
Why it is included
It gives the Place a clear civic focus and shows how nineteenth-century patronage renewed an older tradition of market and gathering space.
What to notice
- The dated and inscribed square pedestal.
- Home family crest on the upper block.
- Three sundials beneath the urn finial.
Reading the surroundings
View from public space while watching traffic and other users. Do not climb, lean objects against the stone or touch the dial faces.
Timeline
- Before 1815 Local tradition associated the site with an earlier village cross.
- 1815 The Earl of Home erected the present classical sandstone monument.
- 19th century The Ordnance Survey recorded both its modern date and reputed ancient site.
- 1971 The market cross received Category A listing.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
No physical proof cited in the designation confirms that the earlier cross occupied precisely this spot.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Coldingham Market Cross, LB4094 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- Coldingham community website — Locally maintained context for the village, its facilities and heritage setting; used alongside official designation evidence.
- Trove: Coldingham Market Cross — National collection entry corroborating the designation identity, mapped location and related archive material.
- National Library of Scotland: georeferenced historic maps — Historic-map comparison for the building, street pattern and surrounding settlement; map dates and layers should be checked individually.
Location
OS grid reference NT 90236 65974 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies component extent, terrain and access. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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