St Albans Charter Market is an outdoor

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), ' ...

in the

cathedral city Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom. Cathedral city may also refer to: * Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States * Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Cheddar cheese * Cathedral City High Schoo ...

and

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

. The market runs from Market Place North-East up St Peter's Street to the junction with Catherine Street and is managed by

St Albans City and District Council ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

History

Religious establishment to secular control

Wulsin, the sixth abbot of St Albans founded St Albans Market in circa 860 to generate income for the Abbey and to form the centre of a new town. Market Place became largely built over, and the houses and courts and alleys between Chequer Street and the street now called Market Place were gradually formed. French Row, also known as Cobblers Row and Cordwainers Row, was in like manner erected, and was built before 1335 so that the encroachments on the Market Place must have begun at an early date. As part of the dissolution of the monasteries,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

closed the Abbey in 1539 and took possession of the market, it remained crown property for the next fourteen years. In 1553, Henry’s son

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

sold the right to hold the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays as well as three fairs on:

Lady Day In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, durin ...

(25 March), St Alban's Day (22 June), and

Michaelmas Day Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christianity, Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical year, liturgica ...

(29 September) to a group of local merchants and landowners. The

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

which recorded this sale also incorporated St Albans as a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

. The new mayor acted as clerk of the market overseeing the setting of prices, the accuracy of weights and measures, and presided over the Court of Pie Powder which enforced the rules of the market. At an early date, the stalls were grouped by what they sold. Cheap or Cheping is an archaic terms for market and shambles is an archaic term for the area of a market where butchery occurred so the market was divided into: a 'Fleshambles', the Fish Shambles, the Malt Cheping, the Wheat Cheping, the Leather Shambles, the Pudding Shambles, the Wool Market, and Cordwainers or Coblers Row.

Market bell

The market bell was cast in 1729 and was used until 1855. Non-freeman of the town were not allowed to trade under the bell was rung at 10 a.m. Formerly housed in the market house it is now the second bell of the

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

Corn exchange

The roof of the old market hall was supported on posts and there were no walls, it was open to the elements. Beneath it grain was sold retail to householders, and wholesale to millers, bakers, and corn factors. The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 freed up the market for corn trading, and led to a boom in the building of corn exchanges. St Albans corn exchange was built on the site of the market hall following an architectural competition in 1854 with demolition of the old market hall in 1856 and the new corn exchange opened within a year.

Demise and return of the Wednesday market

In the early 18th century the Wednesday market lapsed and livestock and corn were sold on Saturday. Despite St Albans being in the midst of corn and cattle country and having the advantage of access to three railways lines, the cattle trade suffered. If cattle were purchased on a Saturday they could not complete their journey on the Sabbath, so the buyer needed to pay for accommodation and feed till Monday. In the spring of 1872 Town Councillor Edwards was active in promoting the change of the cattle and corn markets to Wednesdays. Councillors and farmers all agreed. Sale of horses, carriages, carts, harness, implements was transferred to the St Albans Wednesday Cattle Market from Harpenden in 1890.

Modern Market

The modern market is a general market with produce, clothing, homewares, and jewellery for sale. Saturday remains the busiest day. There is an increasing element of street food.

Other markets

In addition to the Charter Market and fairs, there are a number of other markets regulated under the Part III of the Food Act 1984. On the second Sunday of each month a farmers’ style market with a heavier emphasis on produce. Two markets are run on behalf of St Albans City and District by the St Albans Business Improvement District, each Friday there is a Artisan Market in Market place and there is a vintage and antiques market on the third Sunday of each month.

Transport

Bus

230, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305, 357, 361, 601 The Alban Way, 602, 653 Tigermoth, S4, S5, and S6.

Railway

The nearest stations are

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

and St Albans City.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Albans City and District Council's markets webpages

St Albans's markets webpages
St Albans 9th-century establishments in England Retail markets in England