KINCARDINE’S market cross stands in the High Street and has been there since the 17th century. Market, or mercat, crosses marked the part of a town where the markets could be held, following the granting of permission from the king. This was the place where stalls would be arranged for the public to peruse their merchandise, and where merchants would gather to make their deals on goods and services. The cross also acted as the point from which the bellman, or town crier, would ring out proclamations such as a new monarch, and was also used for public shaming, sometimes even execution.

The octagonal stone pillar in Kincardine sits on an octagonal base which is reached by six octagonal steps. On top is a sculptured stone with the arms of the Earls of Kincardine on one side and a thistle on the other. The coat of arms is divided into quarters with two having the lion rampant and the other two, the second and third, having the saltire and chief. This shield is stoically defended by two men in armour carved into the stone. This is all surmounted by a coronet and wreath with a flexed arm reaching out of a cloud and holding a man’s heart.

The earldom was created on 26th December 1647, and the cross was installed in the street in 1663 when Kincardine was created a Burgh of Barony under Alexander Bruce, the 2nd Earl of Kincardine. Bruce was given the right to hold weekly markets, so the market days chosen were Wednesday and Saturday when Kincardine High Street was crowded with people buying and selling meat, poultry, butter and cheese.

The cross was removed from the site for restoration in January 2014 as concerns had been raised by the local community council as it had developed a dangerous lean. The stone was also cracked and the joints within the structure were beginning to fail. The steps were removed that April for restoration.

The Kincardine Community Council and local councillors managed to raise funds for the specialist work to be carried out with Fife Council awarding the project £5000 towards the cost of repair. Scottish Power also gave a generous donation. A reinforced concrete foundation was laid before the steps and the cross were reinstated in the late summer of that year.

Its stone base is dated 1830, so was possibly a later addition to the market cross or a replacement.

The cross is historically significant for Kincardine and was Category B listed on 20th June 1972.