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Mercat Cross, Edinburgh
Unknown, 1885, Photograph
Mercat Cross, Edinburgh
Mercat Cross, Edinburgh
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Location
Category
Library Item
Item no
2883
Title
Mercat Cross, 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. A horse-drawn carriage waits on the cobblestone road. Shops have canopies over their windows.
Artist / maker
Unknown
Date
1885
Size
10.9 x 15 cm
Type
Photograph
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
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