Market Cross
| Browse information by: 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: | 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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