Market Cross

An early 17th-century wayside cross originally located (see KK013-024----) c. 600m WSW of its current location, near the W end of Freshford, at the back entrance to Uppercourt demesne (Tighe 1802, 426; Prim 1850-51, 170). It was moved from there to its present location on the N edge of the village green by Sir William Morres of Uppercourt c. 1800 (ibid.). According to Prim (ibid. 171) the cross was erected by Ellen Butler, daughter of Edmond, second Viscount Mountgarret for her husband Lucas Shee who died in 1622. He describes how the monument had been much vandalized and the inscription and armorial bearing defaced. However, he gives portion of the inscription which was decipherable up to c. 1835, as, ‘LUCAE SHEE ARMIGERI NOBILIS UXOR…BTLER…MONUMNETUM. E… T UTRIUSQUE AN…. ERNUM PRECA….. TE…….’ the translation of which, in essence, invokes passers-by to pray for the repose of the souls of Lucas Shee and his wife, the Hon. Ellen Butler (ibid.). The armorial bearing consisted of 'the O’Shee arms, impaling those of the lordly house of Mountgarret, and some elaborate sculptures representing the emblems of the Passion', all of which had been defaced by vandalization (ibid.). Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 256) describes the cross as consisting of, ‘a solid graduated base of limestone, supported a square pedestal in which the cross was placed. The cross itself was removed or broken a great many years ago, leaving only the graduated base and socket’. The stepped square-plan pedestal consists of 3 tiers (bottom tier dims. 2.89m x 2.9m; H 0.34m; middle tier dims. 2.14m x H2.14m; H 0.48m; upper tier dims. 1.42m x 1.36m; H 0.38m) surmounted by a limestone cross-base (dims. 0.59m x 0.57m; H 0.62m). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 21 April 2020

The Market Cross at Freshford Lots was built in the early 17th century and is thought to have been erected as a wayside cross near the entrance to Uppercourt demesne. It is significant as a rare surviving example of a market or high cross in the region, reflecting the tradition of such monuments in rural and market towns.