Askrigg Market Cross

Description

Askrigg Market Cross MYD34268 (c) YDNPA, 2023

Askrigg was granted a market charter in 1587 but the market cross is a much later addition, perhaps built at a time when the market was facing terminal decline in the face of competition from Hawes. The cross dates to 1830 and was made by Leonard Hesletine an Askrigg mason. The base is formed of six octagonal steps and the cross shaft is also octagonal. Made of ashlar (finely dressed stone). A toll-booth is recorded as having been built in Askrigg market place shortly after the granting of the charter in the late 16th century. It was used in part as a lock-up and store as well as a market office for the collecting of tolls from stallholders. It was demolished in, or shortly after 1898. Photographs show it as a two-storey building with a stone roof and with access to the upper floor provided by a set of external steps on the north side of the building. Excavation in 1995 provided no further evidence.

Source:

Hartley, M & Ingilby, J (1953) Yorkshire Village. London: J M Dent & Sons