VISITNORWICH
norwich market
the place to be! For centuries markets all over the world have been the hub of daily life: full of banter, bustle and bursting with fresh produce says Melanie Cook of VisitNorwich
Photography by MEL COOK, ANDI SAPEY and JASON BYE
IN BRITAIN TODAY, shopping for daily essentials in a market isn’t what
it once was. We’re used to monthly farmers’ markets or, if we’re lucky, weekly markets in market towns. However, many are frequented to “top up” our weekly shop with luxury artisan goods, “extra special” local cheeses and pies, pastries, bread and condiments. Norwich Market is the largest, open-air, permanent, six-day-a-week market in the country and a market that visitors quickly head to when exploring the city. It’s pretty hard to miss, thanks to its central location and iconic, colourful, stripy canopies which have become synonymous with the city, often appearing in print and featured on souvenirs. The market also has a marvellous history. Today, Norwich Market is an exception to most other UK markets as this is still a market where you can shop daily; if you live or work in the city it’s perfectly feasible. It’s a market full of all the usual suspects, from greengrocers, butchers, fish merchants and florists to stalls selling take-away chips and mushy peas. But it is also much more than this, as not all of its products are edible! Norwich Market is the go-to place for shoe repairs, watch batteries, clothes alterations and fixing things. And the list goes on, with stalls selling haberdashery, henna tattoos, vintage fashion, haircuts, books, stationery, luggage and, for sunnier times, ice cream. The market has been in residence, a stone’s throw from the Guildhall, for 900 years. During Saxon times it was located in Tombland, in the Cathedral Quarter as it is now known. In those early days, merchant ships would bring in swords from the Rhinelands, furs from Russia and walrus ivory from Scandinavia; the market would also sell local farm produce, pottery and iron tools. The Normans relocated the market after 1076 when they began to build the Castle and the Cathedral. They moved it to Magna Crofta which we know today as “Mancroft”. The market was filled with French merchants, pedlars and cattle drovers. It is understood that the market took place on Wednesdays and Saturdays – it covered a huge area and thrived. So much so, that smaller markets developed, many of which gave their names to streets in Norwich such as Timberhill, Rampant Horse Street, Orford Hill and Maddermarket, where market goers and traders would have purchased timber, horses, hogs and fabric dye. The market was also a place for punishment and there were laws for stallholders. Traders, as opposed to merchants, were barred from selling between the city walls and the market place because doing so meant avoiding taxes. Selling bad or underweight food was also not
the thing to do. Anyone caught offending would be fined – they might also be placed in the stocks, a source of entertainment for everyone else, but a cause of great humiliation for the unfortunate! Today our market is so different, yet similar enough that pictures and photographs of the area make it recognisable. A fantastic source of 20th century social history is the lifetime photography of George Plunkett who took pictures of Norwich from 1931 until he died in 2006 – take a look at: www.georgeplunkett.co.uk. See wonderful Norwich Market scenes dating from 1937 to 1939 as well as photography in Tombland in 1951 and the Cattle Market (by Norwich Castle) between 1931 and 1960. In 2005 Norwich market was revamped and since then it has been welcoming new traders. In the past year alone there’s been a sharp rise in the number of stallholders selling food. The market is developing a reputation for being a great place to meet with friends for breakfast or lunch with many stalls introducing seating and food from around the world. So in addition to traditional fish and chips, bacon butties and hog roasts you can now find lasagne, falafel, cup cakes, Sicilian street food, pizza, curries and noodles. Stop for a coffee at The Little Red Rooster, whose motto is “because life is too short for bad coffee” or the newly-opened local social enterprise: The Feed, “Good Time Eats”, a place trading to help disadvantaged people in Norwich. Fancy opening your own stall? Monthly rents range from £185 to £500. And if you are a charity, there is a charity stall facing Gentleman’s Walk on Hay Hill which can be hired for £15 per day. It’s not quite attached to Norwich Market and is a bit more basic but all the same it’s a place to trade, in an historic location, with great footfall, so why not give it a try?!
FOR MORE DETAILS on opening a stall on Norwich Market email: marketservices@norwich.gov.uk. For information about where to visit, shop, eat and drink in the Norwich area go to www.visitnorwich.co.uk and www.cityofstories.co.uk