The Buttercross, Alveley, Shropshire, England
N 52° 28.143 W 002° 21.941
30U E 543089 N 5813398
The Buttercross in Alveley is associated with the history of both the plague of 17th century and the Black Death of the 14th. It is not marked in any way for the casual passer by to understand, just signposted from 2 miles away.
Waymark Code: WMX3XC
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/23/2017
Views: 1
From the British Listed Buildings website:-
A Grade II Listed monument. A plain stone shaft about 5 feet high on a circular base with round head retaining on each face traces of a Maltese Cross. Although supposed to mark the site of an ancient open-air market place, it is almost a mile from the village, suggesting use as a boundary cross in time of plague to be more likely.
From the BBC Doomsday Reloaded website\:-
It is said that in the 17th Century the people in Bridgnorth caught the Great Plague. Alveley, in those days,sold butter to Bridgnorth.To avoid catching the plague the Alveley farmers left their butter at the cross and walked away while the Bridgnorth people collected it and left their money in bowls of disinfectant.So the Butter Cross saved the people of Alveley from the plague.
From wikipedia:-
The Black Death is said to have killed 60% of the village population in 1349. A stone cross, the Buttercross, 2 miles (3 km) outside the village dates from the time of the Black Death when it was a place for food to be left for the village when it was quarantined.
Disaster Date: 01/01/1349
Memorial Sponsors: Local villagers
Disaster Type: Natural
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
Date of dedication: Not listed
Parking Coordinates: Not Listed
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