Lyn Swindlehurst

MY HUSBAND’S family were market stallholders on Leek Markets for almost 100 years from the late 1880s onwards.

Selling fruit and veg grown on their market garden, opposite Leek Moorlands Hospital.

The beautiful house still remains, but where there were once fields full of produce and greenhouses, with tomatoes grown in soil steamed using a large showman’s traction engine, (Rajah), there are now hundreds of houses.

This led me to think about the market within our town’s setting.

Our beautiful town of Leek is central to the popular tourist destination of the Staffordshire Moorlands.

One of Leek’s assets, and there are many, are our long established markets.

Markets are one of the oldest types of commerce that attract many visitors.

King John gave permission to the sixth Earl of Chester to hold a Wednesday market.

The market had probably existed well before then, but it became Chartered in 1207, making Leek Charter market one of the oldest in the country.

In order to ensure this tradition does not decline due to out of town supermarkets and online shopping, we must nurture our markets along with our lovely town centre shops.

Our historical town centre with its bustling atmosphere surrounds our Victorian market halls and cobbled square where the Green and white stalls welcome retailers, visitors and local shoppers alike.

These shoppers, whilst here, visit our many and varied shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes etc.

Our markets, and businesses of all types, are our future.

We must nurture them to ensure that footfall into our towns thrives and grows.