Ormiston Market Cross

Ormiston, East Lothian
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Another one from the Historic Environment Scotland’s most obscure annals, Ormiston Market Cross forms the medieval centrepiece to a quiet East Lothian village. Except for the steps at the base, the cross is believed to date from about 1450, which makes it one of the oldest market crosses to survive in Scotland. A faint crest on the west face probably used to detail the coat of arms of the local landowner. Market (or mercat) crosses were erected to grant settlements the rights to hold markets, yet Ormiston is a planned village set out only in the 1700s. The cross therefore pre-dates the houses visible today by a few centuries – not much seems to remain of the “old” village apart for the cross itself.