Who doesn’t love a bargain? A market day in England just feels so British. You will find fresh flowers, fruit and veg. Then there are delicious cakes, fresh meat from the butchers and a fantastic selection of fish caught straight from the sea just hours earlier. Not to mention all the clothes, furnishings, handmade goods and more. There are plenty of bargains to be had at the market, and that’s no different for the market days in St Ives.
Every Monday, Market Hill in St Ives is full of market stalls. There is a huge selection of different items across the stalls from all the usual stands and blinds, plants, pet food and toys. On Fridays, there is another market in the same place, but on a smaller scale. The market then gets even bigger on Bank Holiday Mondays when there are loads of new and exciting stalls to explore.
The Free Church
The Free Church, just behind the market, is a great place to visit on market days in St Ives. They have a popular but inexpensive snack bar available. It is only there on market days and has stallholders and bargain hunters in mind.
History of the Market Area
The buildings along Crown Street and Merryland were built on the site of the original market stalls. They used to be set up in the centre of what was once quite a wide road. The buildings on either side have made this road smaller, and the market moved up the road to its current location many years ago.
In the old market area, you can see a monument that was installed to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. However, it wasn’t erected until some years later in 1902. It originally served as a drinking fountain for the people of St Ives. It is said that the delay in erection was due to a Fenstanton brewer seeing something similar at Sandown while on holiday. He liked it so much he decided he would like to commission it for St Ives town centre.
Have you been to the market days in St Ives before? Which is your favourite market stall?
