The Covered Market is a historic

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

with permanent stalls and shops in a large covered structure in central

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England.

Location

The market is located to the north of the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

towards the western end between

Cornmarket Street Cornmarket Street (colloquially referred to as Cornmarket or historically The Corn) is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north to south between Magdalen Street and Carfax Tower. To the east is the Go ...

and

Turl Street Turl Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England. Location The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It intersects with Brasenose Lane to the east, and Market Stre ...

. To the north is

Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...

. Most of the entrances are from the High Street and Market Street (with four entrances from each street). It is also possible to gain access from Cornmarket via the Golden Cross alley, with its small up-market shops.

History

The Covered Market was officially opened on 1 November 1774 and remains in use. It was established in response to a general wish to clear 'untidy, messy and unsavoury stalls' from the main streets of central Oxford. John Gwynn, the architect of

Magdalen Bridge Magdalen Bridge spans the divided stream of the River Cherwell just to the east of the City of Oxford, England, and next to Magdalen College, whence it gets its name and pronunciation. It connects the High Street to the west with The Plain, n ...

, drew up the plans and designed the High Street front with its four entrances. In 1772, the newly formed Market committee, half of whose members came from the town and half from the university, accepted an estimate of nine hundred and sixteen pounds ten shillings, for the building of twenty butchers' shops. Twenty more soon followed, and after 1773 meat was allowed to be sold only inside the market. From this nucleus, the market grew, with stalls for garden produce, pig meat, dairy products and fish.

Today

Today the covered market is still home to numerous traders, around half being food retailers, including market shops selling fresh food such as

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

s and

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

s (including some producing the

Oxford sausage Oxford sausages are a distinctive variety of pork and veal sausage commonly associated with, and thought to have been developed in, the English city of Oxford. Traditionally, Oxford sausages are noted for the addition of veal, in contrast to man ...

). There are also newer

gift shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...

bakeries A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who w ...

and

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

shops. Most of the shops are larger than the original stall sizes, with the result there are fewer businesses in the covered market than in the past. The Covered Market may be accessed via the four entrances on the High Street, via Golden Cross (from Cornmarket), and from three entrances on Market Street. In 2017, Oxford City Council, which owns the Covered Market, announced a £1.6m investment in the fabric of the building, including roof repairs, improved public conveniences, external paving and new signage. In May 2017, the Covered Market received 'the Royal seal of approval' when it was visited by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Gallery

File:The Covered Market Oxford from the High Street.jpg, The Covered Market from the

looking towards All Saints Church File:Covered Market Fish.JPG, A fish store in the market File:Covered Market Fruit.JPG, A fruit stand in the market File:Covered Market Butcher.JPG, A butcher in the market File:Ben's Cookies in Oxford Covered Market.JPG, Ben's Cookies in the market

References

External links

The Oxford Covered Market

Bonner's Oxford, Greengrocer in The Covered Market since 1952

Virtual Tour of the Oxford City Covered Market

Covered Market Video Tour

Walk the avenues of The Oxford Covered Market on Google Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covered Market, Oxford 1774 establishments in England Shopping malls established in 1774 Retail markets in England Shopping centres in Oxford Tourist attractions in Oxford History of Oxford Market halls