Summary

A C16 Tuscan column, with C21 ball finial and cross.

Description

A C16 Tuscan column, with C21 ball finial and cross.

MATERIALS: constructed of limestone with gilded cross.

DESCRIPTION: a Tuscan column with plinth standing on a three-stepped base. A ball finial stands above the column and supports a gilded Latin cross pattée.

History

Leicester High Cross was originally one of eight columns supporting a domed building at the junction of High Street and Highcross Street, in the medieval heart of the city. The building, also known as High Cross, was constructed in 1577 to provide shelter for market traders but by 1773 the structure was in poor condition and was demolished to allow greater room for carriages to pass.

One column from the building was saved and re-erected in isolation, initially in the location of the demolished building. It was moved in 1836 to stand at The Crescent on King Street. It was subsequently moved again, in the C20, to a residential garden, before moving to the rear of Newarke Houses Museum.

In the late-C20 the column was relocated to Market Place and stood there until 2014 when it was moved to its current position in Jubilee Square, close to the location of the original High Cross covered market building. During this final relocation, the column was mounted on a new plinth, with three stepped base below.

In 2015 the ball finial and cross which stood at the top of the column were damaged during construction works. The finial and cross were later additions to the C16 column and appear to be replicas of the finial and cross which originally topped the High Cross covered market. A new ball finial was subsequently installed, with the gilded cross repaired and reattached.

Reasons for Listing

The High Cross, Leicester is listed for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an important survival from the city’s C16 covered market building, once at the heart of post-medieval Leicester;
* despite some restoration following damage in 2015 the cross retains a significant proportion of its historic fabric.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26480266

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)