Life on the Market

Bolton's Market Hall was designed by architect G T Robinson. It covered 7,000 square yards, and was said to be the largest covered market in England. A stunning building, it opened in 1855 and is photographed here by a Francis Frith photographer in 1895.

Until the 1930s the south side of the market, facing the camera, was bordered by a row of buildings which would be later demolished. The gabled stone building (in front of the church) housed the Market Offices, and was also a drop-in centre for the unemployed. It was built of stone from the Session House, which had stood in the market until 1805. Paynes the bakers were in the pale upright building with advertisements for wedding cakes on the frontage. They were the first commercial ice-cream makers in Kettering. The Albion Temperance Hotel is nearest the road. When this block was demolished it was replaced by a car park.

Witney, Oxfordshire, has long been famous for its links with the wool trade, as well as the manufacture of blankets, which have been produced here for over 700 years. The market was traditionally held around the 17th-century Buttercross in the centre of the town.

The fishermen show off their catch of fresh kippers or lobster at Scarborough's fish market in the fifties.

Settle lies on the road between Skipton and Ingleton. On the right is the Elizabethan-style Town Hall, built in 1832. In the background, somewhat smothered by washing, is the Shambles. Dating from the 17th century, the Shambles comprised several shops in an arched arcade, with living accommodation over the top.

This little piggy went to market...! A vanished Irish scene: crates of fine young pigs for sale on a sunny market day in Headford, County Galway, in the West of Ireland.

The cries of traders echo through the expansive square, planned by Inigo Jones.The scene has been described by a contemporary guidebook: ‘All night long the rumble of heavy wagons seldom ceases, and before daylight the market is crowded.The very loading of these wagons is a wonder, and the wall-like regularity with which cabbages, cauliflowers and turnips are built up to a height of some twelve feet is nothing short of a miracle’.