Mercat Cross Campbeltown

This handsome cross is situated incongruously on a traffic island near the old quay in Campbeltown. It was originally set up outside the Town Hall in Market Street but was taken down for safety during WW2 then re-erected after the war in its present position.
Standing about 11 feet high it was thought to have been carved around 1380.
This reverse side has a mermaid and a sea monster at the top and the centre disc is filled with the folliated pattern of a cross.
The cross was originally erected at a church at Kilkivan before being moved to Campbeltown after the Reformation.Its transformation from a religious symbol to a mercat cross is a symbol of the social upheavel and changes in attitude during the Reformation, Kintyre being heavily protestant during the Reformation.