Swine Cross

{{Short description|Structure in Middleham, North Yorkshire, England}}

File:Middleham Cross, Wensleydale, Yorkshire, England.jpg

File:Old Wayside Cross in Middleham Swine Market (geograph 6503394).jpg

Swine Cross is a historic structure in Middleham, a town in North Yorkshire, in England.

The market cross was constructed in the 15th century in Swine Market. It is believed that it was built to commemorate the award of a twice annual fair and market to the town by the future Richard III of England, in 1479. The cross was grade II listed in 1967, and is also a scheduled monument. The identity of the animal carved on the cross is unclear; it may be a swine, or a white boar, the emblem of the House of Neville, which owned Middleham Castle.{{NHLE |num=1318550|desc=Swine Cross, Middleham|access-date=16 June 2025}}{{NHLE |num=1010544|desc=The Swine Cross|access-date=18 June 2025}}{{cite book |last1=Page |first1=William |title=A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1 |date=1914 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol1/pp251-257 |access-date=18 June 2025}}

The base of the cross is rectangular, approached by a flight of steps at each end. On it are two pedestals, one with a medieval capital, and the other with a much-worn effigy of a recumbent animal.