{{Short description|Scottish memorial cross}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox historic site | name = Perth mercat cross | other_name= Perth market cross | native_name = | native_language = | image = Mercat Cross, Perth.JPG | caption = The mercat cross in 2013, looking southeast towards King Edward Street. Perth City Hall is in view on the left | locmapin = Scotland Perth and Kinross | coordinates = {{coord|56.39587|N|3.43026|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | location = King Edward Street, Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland | area = | built = {{start date and age|1913|p=yes}} (current version) | architect = | architecture = | governing_body = | owner = }}
'''Perth mercat cross''' is located on King Edward Street in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Erected in 1913, in memory of Edward VII,<ref name=civic/> it stands immediately to the west of Perth City Hall, which was completed a year later, between it and St John's Centre. King Edward Street was created between 1901 and 1902.<ref name=duncan/> It is the fifth incarnation of the city's mercat crosses.
== Previous versions == left|thumb|The site of the second mercat cross, on Perth's High Street The site of the original mercat cross is not known.
The second of the crosses stood near The Old Ship Inn on Perth's High Street,<ref>[https://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/ ''Perth, the Ancient Capital of Scotland: The Story of Perth from the Invasion of Agricola to the Passing of the Reform Bill in 2 volumes''] – Samuel Cowan J.P. (1904), chapter 3</ref> between Kirkgate and Skinnergate,<ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/site/28310/perth-high-street-market-cross Perth High Street, Market Cross] – Canmore</ref> during the 17th century. It replaced the original one on the same spot. A special stone in today's pavement marks its former location. The cross was removed in 1651 by the engineers of Oliver Cromwell, during his occupation of the city, to provide material for his citadel at the northeastern corner of today's South Inch.<ref name=duncan/>
A third version of the cross was erected in 1669,<ref name=postcard>''Perth: The Postcard Collection'', Jack Gillon (2020) {{isbn|9781398102262}}</ref> after the restoration of Charles II.<ref name=duncan/> Since 1765,<ref name=postcard/> the top part of this cross, which was demolished, has stood in the grounds of Fingask Castle.
A fourth cross was the hub of the four routes of the Perth Corporation Tramways, but it was deemed to be an obstruction to street traffic, hence its removal.<ref>''Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes'' – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 6</ref>
The design of today's cross is closely based on the original.<ref name=civic>{{cite web|url=http://www.perthcivictrust.org.uk/staging/?page_id=480|title=Civic History of Perth from Medieval Times|publisher=Perth Civic Trust|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926192844/http://www.perthcivictrust.org.uk/staging/?page_id=480|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/site/28385/perth-south-inch-cromwellian-citadel Perth, South Inch, Cromwellian Citadel] - Canmore.org.uk</ref><ref name=perthcity>{{Cite web |url=http://www.perthcity.co.uk/index.asp?pg=61 |title=Cromwell's Citadel |access-date=20 December 2021 |archive-date=24 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824192418/http://www.perthcity.co.uk/index.asp?pg=61 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=duncan>''Perth, A City Again'', Duncan. J. (2012), p. 299</ref>
==Design== The cross features the crests of thirteen town guilds, although none of them have any information attached to them.<ref name=civic/>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Perth mercat cross (c. 1913).jpg|The second of the two crosses that stood on High Street, today marked with an inlay in the brick surface File:St John's Shopping Centre 2024 2.jpg|Looking northwest to St John's Centre File:Perth mercat cross detail.jpg|Carving detail File:Mercat Cross (geograph 7105929).jpg|The top of a 17th-century incarnation of the cross, now located in the grounds of Fingask Castle </gallery>
==See also== *Mercat cross
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Perth, Scotland Category:1913 establishments in Scotland Category:Monumental crosses in Scotland