Parish/District | Spalding/South Holland |
Location | towards the eastern end of the Market Stead |
Category | Lost cross (Market cross) |
National Grid Ref | TF 24795 22645 (vicinity of) |
Designation | N/A |
Stone Type | – |
Refs | John Grundy, 1732, A Plan of the Town of Spalding in South Holland |
Visits | – |
Spalding was an important market centre before the Conquest and that status has continued into the 20th century. A market charter for a Friday market was also granted in 1242. No market cross survives in the town today, but old maps show a cross in the Market Stead.
Grundy’s 1732 map of Spalding shows a cross symbol at the southern end of the Market Stead – with the word ‘Olim’ above it, implying the site or ruins of a market cross. The same cross site is shown on a 1750 map drawn by architect R H Holmes. A newspaper report from the Lincolnshire Chronicle of 19 July 1850 states: ‘In the year 1772, the ancient cross in the Market Place of Spalding was taken down in consequence of its dilapidated condition: the market place was also repaved . . . .’
No trace of this cross can be seen today, although the market place remains in use on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Extracts from John Grundy’s 1732 map showing the Market Stead with the cross symbol and ‘Olim’