Over the years, Chichester’s Market Cross has become a well recognised feature of the city. It is believed to have been built in 1501 by Bishop Edward Story, who paid ten pounds to the Mayor of Chichester for the ground on which it is built. The Bishop allowed poor peasants, who only had a few eggs or vegetables to sell, to trade without paying a toll provided they could stand under the cross. Bishop Story died in 1503 and left £25 a year in his will for the upkeep of the structure.

The Cross was built on the site of an earlier wooden construction which had been erected by Bishop Rede (1369-1385) close to the original Roman roads. The current Cross is an eight-sided structure made of Caen stone, a popular building material of the time, and has a central column which is supported by eight flying buttresses. Around the base of the column is a low stone seating area with a stone-paved floor. Each side has an arch carved with the Bishop’s mitre, or headdress, and bosses of demi-angels.

The Cross ceased to serve its original purpose in 1808, when the increased population of the city meant a more extensive market area was required and a large market house was built in North Street. At this time it was proposed to demolish the Cross as it was considered a nuisance. This was prevented when several local people purchased houses on the north side of the Cross, allowing the widening of the street after their demolition.

The Poultry Cross is a market cross in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK, marking the site of former markets. Constructed in the 14th century and modified in the 18th century it stands at the junction of Silver Street and Minster Street.^[1] It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.^[2]

The Poultry Cross is the only one remaining of four market crosses that once existed in Salisbury. The others were the Cheese Cross in the present Cheesemarket area, Barnard’s Cross (livestock) at the junction of Barnard Street and Culver Street and another which designated a market for wool and yarn at the east end of the present Market Place near the War Memorial.^[1]

The presence of a market cross on the Poultry Cross site dates to 1307 and the name to about a century later. The present stone structure was built in the late 15th century. The original flying buttresses were removed in 1711, as can be seen in the painting of 1800 by JMW Turner;^[3] the present buttresses date from 1852-4,^[1] when the upper parts of the cross were rebuilt to the designs of the architect Owen Browne Carter.^[4]

Both of these were taken when I visited Malmesbury earlier this year. You will have to look closely to see the bird in the second photograph.

I hope you all have a great weekend

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.