Marlborough’s first ever community market hit the High Street today (Sunday) to be greeted with a continual throng of customers who defied leaden skies to create a new meaning to Sunday shopping in the High Street.
They toured an array of new stalls offering fresh, hot and cold produce for sale plus goods and services not seen on show in an open-air market before, providing a boost to Marlborough’s shopping centre.
And among the first purchasers was Edwina Fogg, Marlborough’s mayor, who immediately headed for the meat stall to buy fresh steak for lunch with her consort, fellow councillor Nick Fogg.
“Yes, it’s brilliant, fabulous,” Edwina told Marlborough News Online. “This is indeed a big day for Marlborough and one for which we have high hopes.”
And she congratulated Councillor Richard Pitts, who, along with Marlborough’s Transition Town group and Wessex Community Markets organiser Ellie Gill, want to transform Marlborough’s traditional markets, which also operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“There’s a long way to go,” said Councillor Pitts, pictured (left) toasting the market’s initial success with bus driver John West, who drove the 1934 Routemonster converted café from Reading to be on time for the 11am market launch.
“But this is a good start,” he added. “We are now seeking funding from Marlborough town council and the Marlborough area board to enable us to expand the market operation and ensure it is a regular feature on the first Sunday in every month.
“And then we want to go on from there.”
Where the money was coming from didn’t seem to matter from those who crowded round the stalls as Peter Crowther (pictured) kept them entertained them with music from his strohviolin.
But, as Mr Pitts pointed out: “The reasons for calling it a community market is because it is being run on as a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by the people of Marlborough and the surrounding villages, all profits going to benefit them and the community.”
The produce available ranged from bread and honey (pictured) to meat and Middle Eastern mezze while other stalls offered flowers, herbs, fresh fudge, vegetables, mu
shrooms and talented artisans like Tom Humphreys (pictured with market organiser Ellie Gill) displayed his woodworking and furniture restoration skills.
Among those admiring the scene was High Street jeweller David Dudley, who is campaigning with Marlborough Chamber of Commerce for the town to be given Business Improvement Development status.
And also spotted was Tory town councillor Noel Barrett-Morton, whose report on a CCTV project for the town, is awaited by the town council.
When the sun shone in the afternoon more customers poured in with the result that some stalls closed down before the 4pm deadline because they were bare.
Melanie Jones, from Hinton Marsh Farm, nine miles from Marlborough, reported: “We’ve done really well, sold in particular a lot of our gourmet sausages, which are quite unique as all the meat is from our free range farms.
“We sell at other markets in the area, at Swindon and in the local area. As a first time here in
Marlborough, it’s been very good. The customers are really enjoying the produce and say they are keen to come back.”
Councillor Pitts was elated. “It’s absolutely wonderful, We’ve actually been able to make a real success of this market at our first try.”
The final word came from market organiser Ellie.
“It’s been so fantastic with some of the stalls selling out,” she told Marlborough News Online. “They just have nothing left.
“There has been so much positive feedback too. People have come forward and said how interested they are in the community market going weekly or fortnightly so that they could come here to do their shopping here.
“And that’s because the quality of the produce is really high. It’s all local produce and that’s the big bonus.”
