Object Details

Market Cross

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Location
Makers
General Information
Classification
Object Parts
Object Condition
History
References
Photographs


Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright for Photograph:

Creative Commons

Location

Street:Market Place
Town:Chichester
Parish:Chichester
Council:Chichester District Council
County:West Sussex
Postcode:PO19
Location on Google Map
Object setting:Road or Wayside
Access is:Public
Location note:Junction of North, South, East, West Streets
In the AZ book:West Sussex
Page:140
Grid reference:C7
The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks.

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Makers

Name : Derek H. Rollings
     Role:Sculptor
Company/Group :Gilbert and Johnston of Crawley
     Role:Clockmaker

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General Information

Commissioned by: Bishop Edward Story (1422 – 1503)
Construction period:1501. Clock-1904
Installation date:1501
Work is:Extant
Owner custodian:Chichester District Council
Object listing:Grade I: of exceptional interest
Listing date:00/07/1950
Description:The Cross is an open arcaded octagon with buttress piers at the angles terminating in finials carrying iron standards. It is one of the few crosses in Britain that still stands on its original site. It is an open arcade, surrounding a central column carrying a lantern. The space between the arcade wall and the central column is roofed by an elaborate vaulted tierceron ceiling. The pennants on the finials contain: the coats of arms of Bishop Story, Henry VI (King at the time of erection), Lady Farrington and the City of Chichester.
Iconographical description:Carvings: North side:two wide mouthed gargoyles North east face:inverted winged monster, sea horse, goat South east face:double headed eagle, a stallion South face:a sheep and a salmon South west face:a deer, wyvern (a winged two-legged dragon with a barbed tail), camel and a winged lion. Vault:bosses of foliage and fruit
Inscription:Filled empty niche on South side (long since eroded away):

DAME
ELIZABETH FARRINGTON
RELICT OF
SIR RICHARD FARRINGTON
BARONET
GAVE THIS CLOCK
AS AN HOURLY MEMENTO
OF HER GOOD WILL
TO THIS CITY
MDCCXXIV
GEORGE HARRIS MAYOR

An inscription was added in 1746 (now faded):

THIS BEAUTIFUL CROSS
ERECTED BY
EDWARD STORY
BISHOP OF CHICHESTER
WHO WAS ADVANCED
TO THAT DIGNITY
BY EDWARD IV
MCCCCLXXV
WAS FIRST REPAIRED
IN THE REIGN OF CHARLES II
AND NOW AGAIN
IN THE TWENTIETH YEAR
OF OUR PRESENT SOVEREIGN
GEORGE II
MDCCXLVI
THOMAS WALL MAYOR

AT THE SOLE EXPENSE OF
CHARLES DUKE OF RICHMOND
LENOX AND AUBIGNY

In 1904 an inscription was placed in the clock chamber:

IN COMMEMORATION
OF THE CORONATION OF
KING EDWARD VII
THIS CROSS WAS REPAIRED
BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
1903 – 4
PEYTON TEMPLE MACKESON
MAYOR

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Classification

Categories:Heraldic, Functional, Architectural, Composite
Object type1:Building
     Object subtype1:Market Cross
Subject type1:Mythological
     Subject subtype1:Group
Subject type2:Allegorical
     Subject subtype1:Group

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Object Parts

Part 1:Statue of Charles I
     Material:Fibreglass
Part 2:Stonework
     Material:Caen Stone
     Height (cm):1524

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Object Condition

Overall condition:Good
Risk assessment:No known risk
Condition 1 of type:Surface
     Condition 1: Corrosion, Deterioration
     More details:Some corrosion to stone carvings due to weather wearing.
Date of on-site inspection:01/05/2007

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History

History:By the indenture dated 28 December 1501, Bishop Edward Story paid £10 to the Mayor and Corporation of Chichester for the ground on which the Cross was built. The present Cross replaced a much earlier wooden version. No record exists of how it was built or how much it cost. Each face of the structure has a niche that originally contained statues, probably of bishops as there is evidence of a bishop’s mitre carved into each niche. Major damage was done to the angels, statues of bishops in December 1642 during the Civil War.
In the niche facing West Street there is a statue of Charles I by Le Sueur done in the 1630s. It was placed there in 1664. The original is now in Pallant House Gallery – the present one is a fiberglass copy cast by Derek H Rollings of Chichester and laced there in 1978. In 1689 the Protestant William and Mary were proclaimed King and Queen at the Cross following the flight of the RC James II. In 1724 a clock was added on three sides, given by Lady Farrington, widow of Richard Farrington. To mark her gift, the empty niche on the South side was filled and an inscription placed inside (long since eroded away). The decision to only have three dials was much criticized. In 1746 it was removed at the personal expense of Charles, 2nd. Duke of Richmond and replaced with one that had four dials. In 1808 the arches were closed with metal railings that remained in place up until 1872. A striking clock was installed in 1904 made by Gilbert and Johnston of Crawley. The clock is now powered by electricity. On three of the dials the figures are made from cast iron but the dial facing North Street is much more intricate and may date from the 18th century. In 1928, the Cross was ‘rendered’ in the name of restoration and badly damaged by the process. It obscured many of the carvings. Repairs were again made in 1950s and in 1978 – 80 during which tome the rendering was removed. The Cross was made a grade I listed building in July 1950. It is also a scheduled monument under the Ancient Monument Areas Act 1979 (as amended by the National Heritage Act 1983).
Hard archive file:Yes

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References

Source 1 :
     Title:‘A Jewel in Stone: Chichester Market Cross 1501 – 2001 - Otter Memorial Paper Number 15’
     Type:Book
     Author:Foster, Paul. (Ed.)
     Date:00/00/2004
     Publisher:University College Chichester


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Photographs





Date: 01/05/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Date: 01/05/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Date: 01/05/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Date: 01/05/2007
Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons

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