Aberdeen, The Market Cross 1892

Photo ref: A90302

More about this scene

The very grand cross is still where it was in this view. The railings and lamps have gone, but similar lamps have recently been installed along the Castlegate. All the buildings shown here still stand. Puritans disapproved of crosses and removed them from market places. After the Restoration, Aberdeen decided that a new Market Cross was needed, although it was 1686 before it was erected. It was worth awaiting, as it is a splendid edifice, decorated with portraits of the Stuart kings and the one tragic Queen of Scots and topped by a long column with, at its summit, the unicorn, holding a shield displaying the lion rampant, the royal beast of Scotland. It has presided over the changing fortunes of the Castlegate for more than three centuries, during which time it has seen the market expand as the city grew more prosperous and populous, and then contract as retailing retreated inside into shops. It has seen the markets removed altogether and the trams running round it, till they also were removed. It has been used as the city's first post office, till increasing literacy demanded bigger premises. Important proclamations were made from it, with the members of the town council sitting on the raised platform inside. It has been shifted to other parts of the Castlegate and it has been ignored as the centre of commercial activity moved westward to the new streets. It has recently heard the noise of modern electronic sound equipment, as the official ceremonies to bring in a New Year are held.