Scheduled Monuments›England›Butter Cross at Dunster

Butter Cross at Dunster

England
List entry 1014409
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1014409
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.01 hectares
Grid reference
SS 98819 43873
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Butter Cross at Dunster is a market cross of medieval origin located in the town centre of Dunster in Somerset. The structure dates from the fifteenth century and served as a focal point for trade and commerce within the town, particularly for the sale of dairy products and other provisions. The cross is constructed in stone and features a distinctive octagonal plan with a pyramidal roof, characteristic of market crosses of its period. It remains substantially intact and represents an important survival of urban medieval infrastructure within this historically significant English market town.

Butter Cross at Dunster is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1014409. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Butter Cross at Dunster?

Butter Cross at Dunster is a market cross of medieval origin located in the town centre of Dunster in Somerset. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1014409.

Who is responsible for protecting Butter Cross at Dunster?

Butter Cross at Dunster is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1014409.

What other scheduled monuments are near Butter Cross at Dunster?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Leather Barrow (8.3 km), Wiveliscombe Barrow (9.2 km), Bowl barrow 700m north east of Burrow Farm (9.6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Butter Cross at Dunster

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Butter Cross at Dunster's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Leather Barrow
8.3 km
Wiveliscombe Barrow
9.2 km
Bowl barrow 700m north east of Burrow Farm
9.6 km
Burrow Farm iron mine and section of mineral railway trackbed, 350m north east of Burrow Farm
9.6 km
The Incline, lying between Brendon Hill and Comberow, and the remains of Combe Row Station
9.7 km
Carnarvon New Pit iron mine and section of mineral railway trackbed, 300m south west of Heather House
10.1 km
Bowl barrow 470m north of Brendon Hill Farm
10.2 km
Raleigh's Cross iron mine, 310m south east of Heather House
10.4 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Butter Cross at Dunster

Butter Cross at Dunster stands on Middle Devonian (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

Domesday entry for Dunster, Somerset →
All Scheduled Monuments