Market Square is an open air urban space in

Warwick, Warwickshire Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has for many centuries been the centre of the town taking on a number of functions during its history. Although Warwick as a town dates from before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, one of the earliest recorded events to take place in the square was the

mop fair Hiring fairs, also called statute or mop fairs, were regular events in pre-modern Great Britain and Ireland where labourers were hired for fixed terms. They date from the time of Edward III, and his attempt to regulate the labour market by the ...

which was chartered in the 14th century by Edward III. The square was named Mount Pleasant in 1806 In 1855 a

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...

was built at the south of square, was demolished in the mid-20th century and is now a row of shops with flats above. One of the oldest buildings left in the square is the Market Hall which was built in 1670. It exists today as a council run museum. There was a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

in the middle of the square until the mid-20th century which has now been removed. Connected to its north east corner is the much smaller ''Old Square'', containing St Mary's Church.

The Square today

The square is bounded to the north by Shire Hall, the main offices of

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...

and to the south by the Warwickshire County Museum which is located in the old Market Hall. The eastern and western edges contain shops, restaurants and pubs.

Street market A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic lang ...

s take place each Saturday as well as

Farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

s on the fifth Saturday of each month. For four nights of the year in October the square still hosts the mop, a

travelling funfair A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

. In the corner of the square is life sized statue of former World Middleweight boxing champion

Randolph Turpin Randolph Adolphus Turpin (7 June 1928 – 17 May 1966), better known as Randy Turpin, was a British boxer in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1951 he became world middleweight champion when he defeated Sugar Ray Robinson. He was inducted into the Intern ...

which was unveiled in 2001.A Telegraph article about the statue
/ref> Although mostly pedestrianised there are two one-way streets on the north and west sides of the square and a small number of parking spaces.

Public toilets A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

are open during the day and early evening with separate facilities for men, women and disabled users. There are two public car parks and the town's main

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

within two minutes walk of the square.

References

Squares in England Retail markets in England Warwick {{Warwickshire-geo-stub