Mercat Cross & City Chambers, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

2880

Title

Mercat Cross & City Chambers, Edinburgh

Description

The City Chambers and Mercat Cross on the High Street Edinburgh. The Mercat Cross has a unicorn sculpture at the top of a column. It has heraldic symbols carved into the stonework. Horse-drawn carriages wait on the cobblestone road.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1925

Size

8.8 x 13.3 cm

Type

Photograph; Postcard

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Edinburgh's Mercat Cross stands at the east end of St Giles Kirk on the High Street. The original cross stood nearby but was dismantled in 1756 and taken to Drum House. William Gladstone instigated the erection of the current cross in 1885, which incorporates some parts from its much larger predecessor. The Mercat Cross is the traditional centre of the city market, a meeting place for merchants, a place of execution and the site of official proclamations.

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Related subjects

Business > Service industry > Mercat Crosses

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Royal Mile

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh