Carperby Market Cross is a historic structure in

Carperby Carperby is a village in Wensleydale, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It lies west of Leyburn. Etymology The derivation of the villages name is uncertain, but Ekwall believes it to mean 'Cairpe's settlement' in Old N ...

, a village in

Wensleydale Wensleydale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines. The Dale (landform), dale is named after the village of Wensley, North Yorkshire, Wensley, formerly the valley's market tow ...

, in England. Carperby was granted a market charter in 1305, but it is believed that it ceased to hold markets around 1587, when nearby

Aysgarth Aysgarth is a village and civil parish in Wensleydale, in North Yorkshire, England. The village is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, about south-west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond and west of the county town of Northallerton. Hi ...

assumed greater importance. A market was restarted in the 17th century, and it is possible that the

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...

was erected to commemorate this occasion. The cross was erected in the village centre in 1674, and restored in 1843. The

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England which covers most of the Yorkshire Dales, the Howgill Fells, and the Orton Fells. The Nidderdale area of the Yorkshire Dales is not within the national park, and has instead ...

Authority argues that the base may be of this later date. It was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1952, and made a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

in 1995.

The cross is constructed of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, and has an octagonal tapering shaft on a base of seven square steps. On the arms of the cross are recessed square panels, and on the top is a panel containing initials. The date 1674 is on the east face of the arms, and 1843 on the west face, along with an inscription "RB". On the ends are face masks in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

References

{{coord, 54.30319, -1.99183, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire Market crosses in England Wensleydale

See also

References