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THE PUBLIC MARKET HALL
Over 200 years ago the American statesman Patrick Henry said
''I know of no way of
judging the future but by the past '',
Please consider our
future by looking at Chester's past.
The Market has with the rest of the cities commercial
activity played a significant role in the history of Chester. The word Forum derives
from the Roman for 'a place of assembly
the market place ', significantly
this would have been one of the most prominent buildings in Roman Chester some 2,000 years later the market still
stands close to its Roman site. As the place of public assembly, the Forum was
usually capable of accommodating a large number of people.
It was also the official centre of public and corporate life, and was usually surrounded by its chief public buildings,
and often ornamented with statues and other works of art. The massive columns of which were still in part remaining
in situ, was one of the finest examples of Roman work that had been discovered anywhere in England. Fragments of
walls, colonnades, tessellated and herring-bone pavements, inscriptions in marble were among the relics turned
up at this most interesting site. (A full account appeared in the 8th part of the "Chester Archaeological
Journal ")
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So from the time when deals were struck under the market
cross
at the
joining of those principal four Roman founded streets, trade continued carried on at weekly markets.
Markets are set up to secure that trade would be carried on in a place where it could be conducted under proper
regulation, where law and order could be enforced, and where publicity of sales could be ensured. Anglo Saxon laws
confined buying and selling to cities and towns, and required the presence of witnesses (see the ancient laws and
Institutes of England 1840 pp.68, 88, 90, 117, 167,)
The laws of William I. were conceived in the same spirit, the medieval spirit however saw no irreverence in mixing
sacred and mundane concerns, fairs were often held, like the wakes, at the time of the patronal festival, and sometimes
took place in the unenclosed churchyards.
The Norman's were to carry on the traditions.
A very early account mentions an important market at the western end of Eastgate Street, where dairy produce was
sold.
In 1195 Lucian , a monk of St. Werburgh's enthused.
'There are also two excellent straight streets in the form of the blessed Cross, which through meeting and crossing
themselves, then make four out of two, their heads ending in four gates ... ( and ) in the middle of the city,
in a position equal for all (God) willed there to be a market for the sale of goods ... .' |
Hugh Lupus & the Fair
The fairs stood on an open area in front of the
Abbey, and here, from the time of the great Hugh Lupus to the advent of the Reformation, the monks of St. Werburgh
held their annual Midsummer fair held during the feast of St. John the Baptist, which went on for 3 days. Booths
were set up in front of the Abbey and thatched with reeds supplied by the monks of Stanlow, the Autumn fair took
place during the feast of St. Michael (Michaelmas fair), the letting of these stalls were in the hands of the Abbot
and convent,
It was during the time
of one of the fairs that Earl Randle Blundeville was besieged in
Rhuddlan
Castle by the Welsh, when attempting the subjugation of those Cambrian
mountaineers. The Earl, perceiving the nice pickle he was in, dispatched a messenger to De Lacy, his constable
at Chester, a "ryght valiaunt manne ," who, rushing into the fair, presently collected to his standard
a " noble army of fiddlers " and drunken musicians - the "tag , rag and bobtail " there assembled
- and with these he forth with set out to the relief of his beleaguered lord. The Welsh who, had previously felt
sure of their prey seeing the immense host approach, and hearing withal the terrible discords of the "harp,
flute, sackbut, psaltery, and other kinds of music," reasonably enough concluded that Bedlam was let loose;
and with that doubtful sort of valour sometimes nicknamed discretion precipitately took to their heels, and so raised
the siege.
The Earl returned to Chester at the head of his victorious minstrels, and immediately chartered the holding of
the Fair with numerous privileges and immunities, granting to the brave De Lacy, and to his Heirs for ever the
licensing of and custody over the minstrels of Cheshire which prerogative he regularly exercised. (Strangers Handbook to Chester)
The charter issued by Earl Ranulph III of Chester to the men of Chester is attributed to c.1208-18 (Chester City Record Office Ref CH / 7)
... that no - one may buy or sell any kind of merchandise, which shall come to
the City of Chester by sea or by land , but them and their heirs, or by their favour, save at the fairs appointed
at the Nativity of S. John Baptist and at the Feast of S. Michael Wherefore I will that my aforesaid men, and their
heirs, may have and hold the before mentioned liberty from me and my heirs for ever, freely, quietly, honourably,
and peaceably; and I prohibit on the forfeiture of 10 l. to be taken for my use, that no one may hinder or trouble
them in respect of the aforesaid liberty.
Witnesses: - The Lord Hugh, then Abbot of Chester: Philip de Orreby then
Justice of Chester: Warren de Vernon: William de Venables: Peter le Clerk and many others.
The Rows and their
origins
Such was the power and authority of the Earls of
Chester that many believe that these rights hold the key to the existance of the Rows.
Dr. Morris Chester during the Plantagenet and Tudor
Periods (pp 289 - 290) states:-
"When after the long interval
of comparative desolation extending over several centuries, and the alternating ravages of Saxon and Dane, Chester
became, once more, under the firm rule of its Norman Earls, a city of settled inhabitants, and, for the sake of
its commanding position both from a military and commercial point of view, an increasing resort for merchant and
traders, that the same circumscribed area to which reference has been made (as in the City of London) would be
most valuable for trade. The course of the four streets would have been kept free and unencumbered for traffic,
even during Saxon and Danish times; but along the line would remain the ruins of the dismantled Roman buildings,
which as each century passed would have been covered more deeply with rubbish and soil. Traders would erect their
shops along the level of the four main streets - Bridge Street, Watergate, Eastgate, and Northgate which in the
mediaeval times were the only streets so called; all the other lines of traffic being called loanes or lanes,
with the single exception of Pepper Street.
At first these shops on the level
of the street were not properly shops, but selde, mere sheds often moveable, such as those which were set up at
the great Annual Fairs; and as we learn from the agreement between the Abbot of St. Werburgh and the Mayor of Chester,
were to be removed immediately at the end of the fair. But the frontage and position was a valuable one, and other
traders coming in would wish to enjoy the same advantage. What more natural than that they should erect on the
higher ground, formed of the debris of Roman buildings rising behind these seldae of traders' sheds, their own
place of business. These new buildings, perhaps of a more permanent character, would have the advantage of facing
the principal business streets. They would be the shopae, of a better character than the seldae, open rooms with
wide openings closed with shutters. "
The word selda therefore means a moveable stall, or shed, that the selda have been for a long time enclosed is obvious, as early as the time of Henry V. (1420),
Canon Morris gives a deed which refers to a shopa under the Row. But frequently later than that, and universally
before that date, these shops are referred to as seldae.
There can be little doubt that formerly the shops below the Row were more in the nature of movable stalls; placed there probably, first of all, for the market and fair days and gradually, as trade
extended and became more settled, developed into a permanent shop.
The Chester City Council's and
its market
With the gradual accumulation of sand at the mouth
of the river Dee, the City became of necessity deserted by the middle of the fifteenth century. Henry VII. was to
take decisive action.
Joseph Hemingway records
Henry VII. did in the 21st year
of his reign, grant a very full, favourable, and important charter, which has, however, by one of its provisions,
caused much party animosity in the city; this charter instituted the office of recorder, erected the city into
a county by itself, and granted it to the citizens and commonalty (excepting the castle), to be governed by a corporation,
This Charter exempts and separates the City of Chester from Cheshire, gives legal recognition to its government
by a Mayor, two Sheriffs twenty-four Alderman and fort Common Councilman.
This charter also grants the City Council a market.
(22) Market - we have also granted for us and our heirs to the aforesaid Mayor, Sheriff, Citizens and
Commonalty that henceforth no merchant will in the City afore said sell by wholesale or retail fish or flesh except
in the accustomed place assigned by the aforesaid Mayor, Sheriff, Citizens and Commonalty under pain of forfeiting
the said fish or flesh and paying a fine at the discretion of the Mayor, and sheriff at the time being.
A wool market is one of the earliest
recorded in Northgate Street (1549), fish was sold by franchised fishmongers in Watergate Street, the two fairs
continued with both freemen and foreigners having liberty to trade. The City was to be ravaged by the civil war (1642-1646), its siege and surrender were followed
by the terrible plague (1647). Chester was in a poor state, but gradually trade began to revive. Its markets and
fairs regained their former importance so that by the end of the century the city was the major retailing centre
of Cheshire and North Wales. The weekly markets increasingly dealt with luxury goods as well as local produce.
Markets for bread, vegetables, fish, dairy products, meat and poultry were held in Northgate Street; poultry, cheese
and butter markets in Bridge Street; flax and linen markets in Eastgate Row north until the early 18th century.
Chester maintained a market town appearance for
a considerable time. The almost medieval appearance still presented itself at the turn of the 18th century. No
one was permitted to sell wares of a trade other than their own, only freeman could sell in the city. 'Foreigners'
were prevented from buying goods in the Common Hall and freemen who purchased for 'foreigners' could be disfranchised.
Tolls on transactions were gathered by the city and would have been used to provide for the upkeep and pay of the
mayor's officials. Wednesday and Saturday were the old Chester market days, goods were sold to the ring of the
market bell.
The
Guilds
The trade of Chartered towns was very closely watched
over by powerful Guilds, they settled such matters as hours, and prices charged, the standard of quality, and the
number of apprentices. Competition from outside was frowned upon and it was only on special occasions such as the
fairs that outsiders who were not sworn freemen could trade without disturbance.
A wooden
hand
was hung
out as a sign, such a hand used to hang from St. Peters Church, by the Chester Cross, during the Summer and Autumn
Fairs.
The two major fairs which now lasted for fifteen days along with the livestock fairs were an important feature of life throughout the eighteenth
century. They provided an important opportunity for wholesale and retail traders to meet and do business . A variety
of manufactured goods, in particular textiles, were bought and sold at fair times, the hop fairs were held at the
Blossoms Hotel in St. John Street and the Hop Pole Inn in Foregate Street. The fairs were dominated in the eighteenth
century by the Irish linen trade, which reached its height in the 1780s and declined in the first two decades of
the nineteenth century because of competition from Liverpool and an increase in direct ordering from manufacturers.
This was also to be a major cause of the decline of the fairs. They became merely markets for the produce of local
farmers. By the 1820s, a large group of general dealers had emerged and high class dealing in luxury goods were
well established in the popular central shopping area .
By the end of the eighteenth century,
although the markets remained an important part of Chester 's commercial life, there was a marked increase in the
number of food traders, wine and spirits dealers, mercers and drapers and booksellers who had shops in the city.
Their premises were in the four main streets. Butchers, bakers, provisions dealers and specialist craftsmen began
to move their businesses outside the city walls.
Victorian
grandeur
During the 19th century there was a growing concern
that some goods were being sold in poor conditions on the street. The main market was in Northgate Street in front
of the Exchange, to the south the vegetable and fish markets were housed in a single storey building the meat market
to the north, but most goods were still sold in the open. In 1862 a fire badly damaged the Exchange (former Town
Hall) which had to be demolished
The Victorian's recognized the importance of buildings,
emphatically stamping their character on the City and our market. There are many pictures and prints by Louise Rayner of the
City
at that time, the nineteenth century revival took up the theme of the Tudor rows, the City
centre was enhanced and refurbished, re-housed were those street markets with even the cheese fair housed in the
Baroque style market hall, soon the Council were to follow with their new Town Hall.
Chester was no longer associated with the traditional
market towns; many towns are still conceived in this manner. Under the Victorians the city progressed with a magnificent
fronted market hall and emporium of superior shops, they changed the conception of Chester created a City that
is now nationally and internationally recognized.
In the late 1960's the whole of the Chester market hall area was redeveloped into the Forum: The council as freeholders
entered into a 125 year agreement with the Legal and General Assurance Society. The central development was borne;
In spite of the feeling of enthusiasm for the Victorian public architecture the market was
demolished
in 1967.
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Replaced by a modern complex of shops and Council offices
with a central mall leading to the Gateway Theatre at the rear on one side and the indoor market on the other,
there the same mixture of produce as in the centuries before could be bought: meat poultry, cheese, and dairy produce,
vegetables, fish, clothing, textiles, household articles, plus books, pictures, knick knack's and health supplements.
But this modern architectural style of the Roman
forum caused controversy from the
outset among the residents of the city.
Lost for posterity was that Victorian Baroque style market hall, are we now
also in danger of losing the Victorian ideal? Looking back we see that the 1960's Central Redevelopment not only
closed the Public Market but took away part of Chester's character. |
The Chester Forum Development Brief appendix
4 part of paragraph 24.3 states.
"The loss in the 1960's of the former market hall frontage on the site of
the forum has been regretted.''
It is a simple statement but when market traders
voiced their traditional, steer clear of change, objections back then, they fell on deaf ears, until later when
a tinge of regret acknowledged that voice. The market traders are voicing their opinion this time and we would
like it to be heard. We want to hang on to our stalls we have not been offered reverse premiums, or peppercorn
rents to entice or compensate for the inconvenience.
The present Market Hall situated on floor three of the Forum development reflects a decision that undermined the
market. The
Market Hall
opened June 1967 still maintains
that 60's feel today with that same Grid Iron layout. The Public
Market
has been
deprived
of
the lack of needed investment, evidence to support these conclusions are apparent.
In 1994/95 the area was refurbished and improved
in design by Scottish Widows, but the flagship anchor store T. J. Hughes is a recognized major competitor to the
market.
Markets and fairs were formerly granted by the Crown
but now they are established by Parliament, at common law it is a franchise right to have a concourse of buyers
and sellers, who can dispose of commodities in respect of the franchise given. The need for a market hall has evolved the Public Market Hall is the designated area set aside
for all equally without hindrance, to be able to display their goods and sell their wares, there is still a need
for a regulated place and
time
for buying and selling.
It may be felt that market traders have no place
in the modern world we live, Chester Public Market Hall provides a market facility that provides colour and vitality,
it has seen many changes, it's a personal thing, not as tangible as a listed building but just as important, its
the alternative place to shop, finding 'a
place in the hearts' of both residents
and those who visit our historic city.
This new development addresses too many issues and
its impact will only be fully appreciated after the scheme is completed. This will be too late as it circumvents
an evolution which is detrimental and will not be easily rectified by retrospective steps.
Under threat
Chester's
market
like our City is considered to be a little out of date, we have been given notice of Chester
City's Council compulsory purchase order September 2004, The first Secretary of State has appointed Robin Brooks
as Inspector. Statutory objectors to the order and/or their appointed representatives may attend to state their
case. Other interested persons may attend and, at the Inspector's discretion, state their views on the order.
Application has also been made under section 75
(1) of the Chester Corporation Act for the
closure
of
Chester Market Hall. The Inquiry will hear objections to the proposed closure of the market hall under S75 of the
Chester
Corporation
Act 1929. Mr Ash acting on behalf of the City Council reported that some 1,101 objections
have been received of which 31 are from market traders. The Council would prefer to deal with objections to the
closure in an essentially self-contained session at the Inquiry, though they would not seek unreasonably to prevent
objectors from raising matters related to it at other times. Objections to the market hall closure will be held
in the spirit of the 1990 inquiries procedure Rules that apply to the compulsory purchase order. If anyone was
unable to attend the Pre-Inquiry Meeting, this will not preclude participating at the Public Inquiry due to start
on Tuesday 25 October 2005, however it would be helpful to let Graham Groom the Programme Officer know if you intend
to speak in person or call witnesses.
During the Inquiry the Programme Officer Mr Groom
will have an office at the Inquiry venue, The Queen Hotel.
Meanwhile he can be contacted at Persona Associates,
West Point, Springfield Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 2PD;
tel. 01403 219899 fax. 01403 217790;
email, gramgroom@personaassociates.co.uk
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