Fife Council to reinstate Mercat Cross on High Street

The unicorn that sat atop the category B monument was toppled and smashed in November 2022 and Fife Council kept the pieces of masonry which will be used, where possible, in the restoration works.

There has been a market cross on Dunfermline High Street since the 1120s although it has been replaced and repaired many times over the centuries.

The Mercat Cross on Dunfermline High Street, before the vandalism. (Image: Newsquest) After the vandalism, the pedestal and remains of the "badly damaged" unicorn were removed and are currently being protected in storage.

There was a suggestion that the Mercat Cross could be moved into the new city square - work was delayed and is now due to start next year at the gap site on High Street - but the council said they aim to fully reinstate it and put it back where Guildhall Street meets High Street, thought to be the original location.

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The application explained: "The unicorn and pedestal will be worked on offsite before being reinstated and will include cleaning and local repairs, with the unicorn re-carved and the existing horn and flagpole reused.

"Although the retention of the full unicorn would have been preferred, thorough information has been provided of why this was not possible and re-carving would be required."

The remaining stone fragments will be used as a basis for the reproduction.

Masonry was retained in the hope it can be used in the restoration works, although a new unicorn statue will be needed. (Image: Fife Council) The five stepped octagonal base was made in 1868, the circular column 2.3 metres in height is from 1992, while the decorative pedestal with the unicorn was thought to date from a 17th century carving.

At the time of the vandalism in 2022, the council's archaeologist, Douglas Speirs, told the Press: "The cross we see today is a replacement erected by public subscription in 1868, with the horn of the unicorn replaced by the council (in 2021).

"For almost 1,000 years, the heart of Dunfermline’s marketplace has been watched over by its market cross. The town’s oldest feature of municipal architecture, it has always been a monument of civic pride.

"It’s the spot from which every momentous event in the town’s, and the country’s, history has been announced.

"The site from which innumerable royal proclamations have been announced; from where deals have been done and rebels have been denounced since the early 12th century."