Photo opportunity: 10.30am Saturday 17 May, in the market outside Moyses Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Cllr Lynsey Alexander, accompanied by a costumed medieval counterpart, will present invitations to today’s market traders for the exhibition ‘1000 years of Bury St Edmunds Market’.
Living history will be celebrated on Saturday 17 May as traders in one of the country’s oldest markets are invited to take part in an exhibition exploring over 1000 years of its history.
Accompanied by a costumed medieval counterpart, Cllr Lynsey Alexander, St Edmundsbury Borough Council Cabinet member for culture and sport will visit the bustling market that operates to this day on the doorstep of MoysesHallMuseum in Bury St Edmunds, to present formal invitations to traders to take part in the celebrations.
Cllr Alexander said,
“Bury St Edmunds has a thriving market that has recently won recognition in a national award. This exhibition charting its unbroken history gives riveting insights into its role in the daily lives of inhabitants from the middle ages to the present day. It will also reveal the surprising past lives of corners of the town, (such as Brentgovel Street), in a series of events beginning with a medieval market.”
ENDS
Notes
- The Market, a living history exhibition at MoysesHallMuseum is on from 17 May 2008 to February 2009. Opening times are Monday to Sunday 10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm) closed Bank Holidays. Entry cost adults £3, child/concession £2 and is free to St Edmundsbury residents.
- The photo opportunity at 10.30am on Saturday 17 May includes medieval traders selling their wares at Moyses Hall.
A potted history of Bury St Edmunds Market includes:
- In 1086 the Domesday Book recorded that there were markets in Bury, Clare and Haverhill
- Today’s market holds a charter which dates from 1604
- Warren's Town Plan, dated 1747, shows a Butter and Fish market (located in today's Buttermarket from Marks and Spencer's down to Abbeygate Street), and a Beast Market (located in today's market area between Woolworth's and Marks and Spencer's), and a Great Market, (located in today's Cornhill and Traverse).
- Angel Hill held the Bury Fair, popular during Georgian period.
- In 1828 the Cattle market was moved from the town centre near the Corn Exchange to St Andrews Street South, which occasioned a riot on 30 April.
- Aspects of the history of the market are on show in the exhibition.
