Overview of Cross Well, The

Located at the heart of Linlithgow, in front of the Burgh Halls on the High Street, is the Cross Well. Taking the form of an octagonal crown, the well-head is ornately carved, with figures associated with the town and topped by a unicorn. There has been a well on the site since at least the middle of the 16th C., but the current structure was built in 1807 by Robert Gray, a one-armed Edinburgh stone-mason. This was a replica of an earlier structure dating from 1628, which was destroyed during the occupation of Linlithgow by Oliver Cromwell's army but rebuilt after the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. Carvings from this 17th C. well-head, which were rediscovered in a store-room in 1997, are on display in the Linlithgow Story Museum in Annet House.