Bolton Market Cross, Churchgate

Image: © Gerald England Taken: 24 Sep 2016

Churchgate leads from Deansgate down to St Peter's Church Image The Market Cross is at the entrance to Churchgate, close to the spot where James Stanley, the Earl of Derby was executed after the Civil War. Bolton was granted the charter to hold a market in 1251; it was held here on Mondays until it became too large, when it moved to Market (now Victoria) Square in 1824. According to the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association http://www.pmsa.org.uk/pmsa-database/4405/ "Scholes' History of Bolton dates the first Churchgate cross to 1482. According to Taylor, this structure was probably replaced by an Elizabethan or Jacobean cross which survived until 1776 when it was removed as an obstruction to the markets. John Wesley preached from this cross in 1748. The current structure was presented to the town by Liberal MP George Harwood in 1909 and was welcomed in a town which was "none too full of monuments and statues", and "somewhat lacking in these interesting memorials of the town." It has four plaques which record significant events in the town's history." Image Image Image Image

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