The curious tale of Dunbar's 'ancient' mercat cross revealed

But now the historic credentials of one of Scotland’s most unusual mercat crosses is coming under intense modern scrutiny amid suspicions that all may not be as it seems.

Indeed, it’s thought that Dunbar’s 400-year-old medieval mercat cross, ‘rediscovered’ early last century as town’s fathers frantically sought to restore and revive parts of the town’s built heritage, may be something of an imposter.

And rather than incorporating historic elements of the real medieval mercat cross, it’s now thought to have been patched together in 1912 from a stone pillar which was once part of an old coaching inn, gargoyles from a religious building and a now missing modern cement thistle.

A 3D photographic and digital survey of the cross has recently been carried out by specialist conservation architects in the hope of gaining greater understanding of the monument prior to any future conservation or possible enhancement.

Mercat crosses were erected in cities, towns and villages which had been granted the right by the monarch, a bishop or a baron to hold a regular market.

As well as being a gathering place for traders, they were often accompanied by a tron or beam used for weighing goods, and a custom house.

Their location at the heart of a community meant they were a focal point for proclamations of national and local importance, where criminals would be punished and where able-bodied men mustered for wapinschaws, regular reviews to ensure the weapons they carried matched their rank and were adequate to protect the town from invaders.

Dunbar was given burgh status by David II King of Scots in 1370, when trade in items such as wool and hides was taking place through Berwick on Tweed and Roxburgh.

Because the towns were in the hands of the English, customs duties were not being paid to the Scottish royal exchequer. And to counteract the problem, the charter granted to George, Earl of March and his heirs the right to create Dunbar a ‘free’ burgh, with burgesses given the right to trade and the establishment of a market cross in the town.

The first mercat cross would probably have consisted of a simple wooden pillar on a stone base and would later have been replaced by a more permanent stone structure, said Herbert Coutts, chair of a working group made up of Dunbar Community Council, Dunbar Trades Association, local branch of Rotary and Dunbar and District History Society which is behind the new research into the cross.

“For almost four centuries it was the focus of the trade in goods in the burgh,” he added.

But by the 18th century towns across Scotland – including Dunbar – were in the grip of modernisation. It’s thought the mercat cross was seen as a nuisance which obstructed traffic through the high street and was dismantled.

That might have been the end of the cross saga. However, the early 20th century saw a new movement emerged that was more appreciative of historical and architectural heritage.

A drive to preserve buildings and structures for future generations placed pressure on local authorities to act as guardians of their local heritage.

Mr Coutts suspects a 1911 letter to the Burgh Council from HM Office of Works in Parliament Square in Edinburgh calling for modern additions to the late 16th century Town House – originally Dunbar’s tolbooth and gaol - to be removed, sparked a search for parts of the missing mercat cross.

As luck had it, a stone pillar was suddenly found in the garden of one of the town’s banks and quickly declared to be the missing mercat cross shaft.

It was lowered into place outside the Town Hall in 1912 by local builder George Cunningham, complete with gargoyles finial – an unusual addition, as most mercat crosses featured either baronial emblems, a lion or a unicorn - and a modern cement thistle perched on top.

However, while the council enjoyed the plaudits for its "enlightened spirit" and having “rediscovered” the long forgotten cross documents emerged which suggested the original cross had really been used in the mid-18th century to construct a new well for the town.

Claims swirled that the town's reborn cross was a “pseudo” mercat cross, with no original elements, and its gargoyle features probably retrieved from a medieval hospital or church.

Now fresh investigations are being carried out in the hope of unravelling the truth behind the cross, as part of anniversary celebrations to mark the 650th anniversary of Dunbar’s burgh status.

It has led to a theory that the stone pillar probably came from the town’s 18th century Black Bull coaching inn, known for generations as “the Pillars”, a reference to the “well-marked entrance to the stables and outbuildings of the property”.

Mr Coutts said: “There was a need among the magistrates to tidy up the tolbooth in the early 20th century. Someone might have said that the town didn’t have a mercat cross yet it was a royal burgh.

“They decided they should have a restored mercat cross. That was not that unusual, as there are not that many original medieval mercat crosses in Scotland; instead you tend to get fragments of them.

“However, when they assembled the cross and put it in front of the Town House in 1912, it was quoted as being from the original mercat cross.

“We have what has been described as Dunbar mercat cross for the last century, even though the various elements of the cross come from different periods.”

Mr Coutts says the “pseudo” cross still has an important role to play in Dunbar’s heritage, and is worthy of being conserved for future generations.

He added: “The mercat cross has witnessed all the celebrations – people collect at the front of the Town House to welcome in the New Year, people were married in the Town House.

“If stones could speak, it would have quite a story to tell about the life of Dunbar.”