Ronnie wrote:sou-wester wrote:If you look at the oldest cross in Glasgow, which is Glasgow Cross, where the toll booth is, then it appears to have been simply where the main throroughfares met. Glasgow until pretty much the mid 18th century was 2 main streets; the high street and the trongate.
Yeah, OK, but the Mercat Cross origainally stood where Castle Street, Rottenrow, Drygate and High Street met. The present Glasgow Cross is *far* younger. And the area around the Cathedral has far older streets than Trongate.
The Catherdral area is older, founded on the spot where St Kentigern was thought to have been buried. I remember seeing a map of medieval Glasgow and the Catherdral was pretty far up the high street, with street lined with inns down to the mercat cross, as it was centre for pilgrams. The earliest map I can find online
http://www.theglasgowstory.com/imageview.php?inum=TGSA00526 , 1560, places the mercat cross where it is today. Also see TheGlasgowStory
A late twelfth century reference to "the first building of the burgh" probably concerns activity south of the cathedral in the area now known as Glasgow Cross. Here the road from the cathedral to the Clyde (High Street/Saltmarket/Bridgegate) meets the road (Trongate/Gallowgate) from Dumbarton to Lanark. Comparative closeness to the river made this site well suited as a market place.
So I think that the mercat cross (or Glasgow Cross) was always pretty much where it is today and is probably about the same age as the Catherdral as Glasgow was made a burgh in the same century the first catherdral was built (12th). It makes sense to have it a little away from the Cathedral as I don't image the Bishop would have wanted his palace too near the trading centre of the burgh.