Malmesbury Market Cross

Malmesbury’s Market Cross stands in the centre of the town at the north end of the High Street and south west of Malmesbury Abbey. Unusually there has been little detailed research around such an important structure. This summary is supported by the paper below brings together different sources of information, examines its architecture and iconography, its history and links to the Abbey. The aim is to better understand key questions such as when was it built and who paid for its construction.

Download the paper here.

Market crosses originated in towns where there was a monastic establishment. A monk was sent to preach to local people and it was also a central point for collecting tolls from those selling within town limits. The original form was a tall shaft on steps, a covering was added later to some crosses to provide shelter. Until 1223 a Saturday market was in held Malmesbury partly within and partly outside a graveyard, presumably that of St. Pauls. After this it was held in the “New Market” perhaps the area within the Abbey precinct where the current cross was built.

The Market Cross is Grade I listed by Historic England, its style of architecture is known as Perpendicular, characterised by pronounced verticals, tracery and complex van vaults.

During this period, he met two people important in his life: Leon Gaster, founder of the Illuminating Engineering Society. Alfred would serve as President of the Society in 1935 would receive Honorary Membership in 1959 in recognition of his lifetime achievement.

No less important, just before the outbreak of WW 1 in 1914, he married Ida Augustus Locke.

Alfred and Ida had two sons, Victor and Gerard. Victor would succeed his father as head of Linolite, but Gerard was tragically lost over the Atlantic during WW II. Ida sadly died in 1932; Alfred remarried in 1941, to Jessie Moreton.

He clearly made other influential contacts for when war came, he was seconded to Government work, co-ordinating munitions production and taking over running one of the factories in the western suburbs of London. With a carefully written contract, he placed Linolite in the safe hands of his friends at Ediswan for the duration of the war.

After the war, he regained control of Linolite, his business flourished, and inventions poured from his fertile imagination, such as the K-Ray (One of his favourites). This gave uniform illumination of a display by reflecting light from a concealed source from the ingeniously curved cover glass.

We don’t know how many were made but one was outside the Old Bell in 1951 showing the menu for the celebration dinner to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Linolite patent!

In 1925, presumably having a bit of spare production capacity, Beuttell bought the rights for a patented hose-clip. These low-tech but high-integrity components link hydraulics, coolants and fuel systems everywhere… particularly in aircraft.

Was he prescient? When WW II came, the blitz and blackout made illuminated shop-signs somewhat redundant and Linolite’s factory in Victoria, London was turned over entirely to hose-clip production. Danger from air-raids prompted the Ministry of Aircraft Production to order its relocation to somewhere safer… Malmesbury!

Alfred became a prominent member of Malmesbury’s social scene, notably as President of the Bowls Club, for whom he generously bought the freehold of their land in 1960.

This contrasts with Malmesbury’s other wartime factory boss, Michael Lipman, head of Ekco, who remained somewhat aloof and once described the Town Council as “Something out of a Charles Dickens story”. (He may say that; I could not possibly comment!)

But time catches up with everyone and at the age of 80, he retired as Governing Director of Linolite, handing over to his son, Victor but remained as Chairman until his death, five years later, on the 5th June 1965.

His obituary in the local press read: “In his last years at Malmesbury, he was engaged in as any local activities as could be reconciled with a retiring nature. He lived in an era of great development to which he contributed, but above all he will be remembered for his quiet smile and humour, and for his soft words of wisdom which emanated as shy but positive suggestions.”

More than fifty years later, he and his factory are remembered with fondness in the town.

For a full biography, click on the link.