Tour Scotland photograph of the Unicorn Mercat Cross in Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland. At the north end of the old market area of Inverkeithing in Fife, is the Mercat Cross, whose pillar dates back to around 1400. A mercat cross is the Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. It therefore served a secular purpose as a symbol of authority, and was an indication of a burgh's relative prosperity. Historically, the term dates from the period before 1707 when Scotland was an independent kingdom, but it has been applied loosely to later structures built in the traditional architectural style of crosses or structures fulfilling the function of marking a settlement's focal point.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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