Butter Cross from Bungay
The Butter Cross of Bungay is a market cross in Bungay , a small town in the English county of Suffolk .
history
Bungay had had the right to hold a weekly market every Thursday since 1382 . In March 1688, large parts of the city fell victim to a fire, including the two market crosses. In order to get the trade going again as quickly as possible, their rebuilding was a top priority. The octagonal Butter Cross on the market square was completed in 1689 in the form of a small hall open on all sides. The name refers to the fact that vendors, protected by the roof, offered butter, eggs and cheese for sale there.
In 1754 a statue of Justitia was erected on top of it , presumably from the workshop of the London metal sculptor Henry Cheere. It stands for both fair trade and the fact that the Butter Cross was used for justice purposes. People suspected of committing criminal offenses waited here for their trial, but there was a cage inside and a small dungeon below the structure . In the Butter Cross, if convicted, a pillory was set up or flogging was carried out. The cage was removed in 1836.
In 1871, the Town Reeve and its Feoffees (as a forerunner of today's City Council) acquired the rights and duties associated with the exercise of market rights from the Duke of Norfolk for £ 40 . Today a non-profit organization, they are responsible for the still existing weekly market as well as for the maintenance of the Butter Cross.
description
The Butter Cross consists of eight columns connected by semicircular arches that support a dome-shaped roof. Its cover is made of lead, as is the statue of Justitia, which is supported by a wooden pedestal. The pillars also stood on wooden plinths, which were replaced by stone ones during a later renovation. The building originally had a raised area accessible by steps. This construction was removed in 1867. The iron shackles with which criminals were chained can still be found on one of the pillars.
The Butter Cross is classified by Historic England as both a Listed Building Level I and a Scheduled Monument and is therefore a listed building .
Corn Cross
The other of the two market crosses, the Corn Cross , also had a roof under which grain was sold. After it was no longer used as such, at the end of 1809 consideration was given to removing it as soon as possible, which then happened in 1810. A water pump , which existed until 1933, was later installed in its place . Today there is a street lamp with a weather vane reminding of the appearance of the black dog from Bungay .
Web links
- Market Place and the Butter Cross on the Bungay Town Trust website
- Entries in the database of listed buildings of Historic England as Listed Building and Scheduled Monument (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Market Place / The Great Fire on the city's website, accessed April 22, 2019. (English)
- ↑ The Town Reeve and the Town Trust on the city's website, accessed April 22, 2019.
- ↑ Description of the Corn Cross with picture in: The Gentleman's Magazine , Volume LXXX, 1810, p. 425f. Digitized version on the HathiTrust website , accessed April 22, 2019. (English)
- ^ William White: Bungay . In: History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Suffolk, and the Towns Near Its Borders , Sheffield 1844, p. 425. Digitized from the HathiTrust website, accessed April 23, 2019. (English)
- ^ Suffolk Walks - Bungay Town Trail. Guided tour of downtown Bungay on the city's website, accessed April 22, 2019. (English)
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 ′ 21.3 " N , 1 ° 26 ′ 14.5" E