Market Cross Built

1501

The Chichester Market Cross was built in 1501, commissioned by Edward Story, Bishop of Chichester from 1478 to 1503. The cross is an ornate octagonal structure of Caen stone, standing at the intersection of the four main streets at the centre of the city. It was designed to provide shelter for market traders and their customers, particularly the poorer traders who could not afford covered stalls. Bishop Story's cross is one of the finest surviving market crosses in England. The structure has a vaulted interior supported on eight pillars, with a central column and decorative carving. A clock and a sundial were added in later centuries. The cross stands roughly on the site where the four streets cross, the point that has been the centre of Chichester since the Roman period. The Market Cross serves no commercial function today, but it remains the symbolic heart of the city. It is the most photographed building in Chichester and appears on countless local publications, souvenirs and promotional materials. The structure has been repaired and restored several times, most recently in a major conservation project. Traffic now passes around it on all four sides, and the cross sits within a small paved area at the centre of the junction. The cross was listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is Grade I listed.