Folkingham

Folkingham held a market charter from 1239 and the major feature of the town (now a village) was its long, thin market place lined with fine Georgian houses. It had a market cross but this seems to have been taken away in a town makeover around the 1790s. Creasey/Yerburgh (1825) writes: ‘In the middle of the market-place was a large pond, on each side of which were usually laid enormous piles of timber. Nearly opposite the Green Man public house, stood the Market-cross, Butchery, and Town-hall, which seemed to have been erected at a period when elegance and conveniency received little or no attention. On the opposite side of the market-place stood the House of Correction.’

Horncastle

Horncastle

William Stukeley’s map of Horncastle, drawn c. 1722, shows a cross in the market place. This cross disappeared many years ago, however, one could argue there is still a cross in Horncastle market place, as the monument erected to the memory of Edward Stanhope in 1894 is a classic ‘spire-type’ cross, set in centre of the market place.

Springthorpe

Springthorpe

Springthorpe is included as a lost cross (and a modern cross) and this record arises from an intriguing entry in the book English Church Furniture edited by Edward Peacock and published in 1866. One might hope and expect it to include many records of churchyard crosses destroyed, but sadly it does not – except for one curious footnote under the entry for Springthorpe. The footnote records a marginal comment made in the register by the Springthorpe churchwarden at the time : [1563] Roland Chambers of Kirton and Mabel Wilson were married 22 Nov and on the same night the cross in the cemetery was overthrown.