Building record MAB23915 - MERCAT CROSS, CASTLEGATE

Market cross, originally erected at NJ94400633 in 1686 (see NJ90NW0044), repaired in 1821 and repaired and moved to the present site in 1827.

Market cross, originally erected at NJ94400633 in 1686 (see NJ90NW0044), repaired in 1821 and repaired and moved to the present site in 1827. The column was replaced in 1995-6, the original now in the Tolbooth Museum. It is common through out Britain and parts of western Europe that the market place of a town would be defined by a market cross. In the case of Aberdeen this is called the mercat cross. This fine and very elaborate cross was carved in 1686 by John Mongomery, a master mason working in Aberdeen. Montgomery is often said to have come from Old Rayne, although he was probably from Aberdeen: another contemporary master mason, Thomas Watson (who built the Tolbooth) was from Old Rayne. When the town council commissioned the cross they decided that it was to be an ornament to the burgh. Montgomery was recorded as having created a paste model of the cross which he gave into the council before they commissioned him to undertake the work. The cross is made up of two elements: a round part (or rotunda) at the bottom and a shaft topped off by a unicorn. It is carved out of sandstone. The shaft is decorated with leaves and roses and thistles: the roses represent the kings of England and the thistles those of Scotland. Together the roses and the thistles represent the union of Scotland and England into Great Britain which had occurred 83 years before the cross was carved, in 1603. The rotunda features a series of carvings of heads of various Scottish monarchs as well as the royal coat of arms of Great Britain and the arms of the city of Aberdeen. The monarchs are all from the Stewart dynasty who ruled Scotland and subsequently Great Britain from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Those monarchs shown on the cross are: James I, II, III, IV, V, Mary Queen of Scots, James VI of Scotland and I of England, Charles I, Charles II and James VII of Scotland and II of England. When the cross was completed it would have been entirely decorated from top to bottom: the accounts for building the cross involve the purchase of a considerable amount of gold leaf and different colours of paint. Today it is only the unicorn at the top of the cross which is painted and gilded. Over the centuries the cross has had many different and varied uses. The cross was in fact originally paid for out of a wine fund for the Guild of Merchants in Aberdeen. In order to get some of this money back the areas at the bottom of the rotunda were divided into a number of different merchants' booths, or shops. These were then rented out. Originally the cross had a cistern installed in the centre of it which at times of great festivities was filled with wine. The wine spouted out of the mouths of gargoyles located at the top of the rotunda part. Next to each gargoyle there are bunches of grapes carved into the frieze work of the cross. Later, in the 19th century these booths were reformed into one large space which was used for a few years as Aberdeen's first post office. The cross, as it was the centre of the city, was also the place where various criminals were punished. Historical records show that when people were burned on the cheek or branded, it was done at the cross. Also official announcements, such as the accession of a new monarch were made from the top of the cross.

Period Notes
Listed 12/01/1967.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, , ABERDEEN'S JACOBITE TRAIL AND COLLECTIONS (Bibliographic reference). SAB8364.

SMALL, JW, 1900, SCOTTISH MARKET CROSSES (Bibliographic reference). SAB1795.

SIMPSON, GG, 1975, OLD ABEDEEN IN EARLY 17THC (Bibliographic reference). SAB3268.

HISTORIC SCOTLAND, 1992, ABERDEEN MERCAT CROSS ADVISORY REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB4500.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2013, GRANITE TRAIL ABERDEEN: A GUIDE TO ABERDEEN'S GRANITE INDUSTRY (Bibliographic reference). SAB6472.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2016, ABERDEEN'S SCULPTURE TRAIL (Bibliographic reference). SAB8372.

May 25 1986 , GC 15, 16, GC 15, 16 (Ground Photograph). SAB34045.

Record last edited

Dec 14 2022 2:19PM