Just ahead, you’ll spot St Albans Market by the bustling crowd filling the wide street, colourful canopies flapping above the stalls, and a rainbow of bunting stretching between the trees-just follow the lively energy and the scent of street food!
Welcome to St Albans Market, the living, breathing heart of the city-where history, shouting traders, and the occasional whiff of fresh bread all collide. Imagine the air busy with all sorts of smells: roasting coffee from a corner stall, fried onions sizzling, people laughing, and the distinctive sound of traders hawking their wares.
But this isn’t just any old market-it’s almost as old as England itself! In fact, St Albans Market is the oldest street market in England that still stands on its original site, with traders first setting up shop here way back in the year 860. That’s over 1,100 years ago-back when people thought the best way to keep your market in order was to put the odd troublemaker in the pillory for a few hours. The market was started by Wulsin, the sixth abbot of St Albans Abbey, hoping it would provide the abbey with plenty of coins and help a new town blossom.
Even in those early medieval days, the market was a sight to behold! It was carefully arranged, with different sections for everything from fresh meat (the “fleshambles”-try saying that five times fast), to fish, malt, wool, and even a special row just for shoemakers-because apparently your medieval shopping trip wasn’t complete without a new pair of shoes and a sheep or two! By 1287, Wednesdays and Saturdays had become THE official market days-a tradition that survives to this very century.
All sorts of drama unfolded here. In 1297, the whole place was almost lost to the crown when John of Berkhamsted was caught playing fast and loose with the weights for bread and ale. For a short while, the king took over, but soon enough the abbey had it back-and by the 1300s, market stalls were slowly turning into permanent shops, some with brick and wood construction that might have lasted nearly as long as your average wheel of cheese.
Fast forward to the reign of Henry VIII-who, as you might know, was quite keen on shutting down monasteries-the abbey was dissolved and the market was swept up into crown hands. One poor lessee, Raynold Carte, ended up in the pillory for some misdeed-hard to say whether it was dodgy grain or dodgy moustache, though. After a few years, the market passed into the control of the town. Suddenly, the mayor became the chief market boss, with the terrifying power to fine anyone selling without paying tolls, and-presumably-the even greater power to judge anyone buying dodgy pudding in the pudding shambles.
By the 1700s, things started to change. Market days slimmed down, the weekly Wednesday market disappeared for a while, and strange new rules popped up-like forbidding the sale of corn before 10AM, unless the toll had been paid. That’s what I call keeping the grains honest. A fancy new market cross was built in 1703, topped with the figure of Justice and a town pump, so weary shoppers could stay hydrated after all their bargaining.
Through the centuries, St Albans Market welcomed bustling trade, Victorian inventiveness, and a few rather stern rules. In the 1800s, the market was so busy it was said to be among the greatest in England. According to one charming Victorian, “The primitive street market, with oil lamps flaming away, and the loud cries of bellicose vendors make it quite captivating.” Lamps, loud voices, and lively trades-that’s the spirit of the place!
The 20th century was just as lively-Queen Victoria herself squeezed by the crowds here in 1841, remarking that the town was especially packed on market days. St Albans was always a place on the move; coachloads of tourists, fancy hats from the plait market, and, eventually, the end of trading live animals as shops gained better fridges rather than muddy pens.
In modern times, St Albans Market faced new battles-coach travel dipped, profits fell, and then lockdowns threatened to close the old place for good. But markets, like old traders, are tough. In 2020, as the market re-opened, many returning traders had to build their own stalls, just like the old days, but with loads more hand gel.
And yet, look around you now: in 2024, St Albans Market was crowned the Best Large Outdoor Market in the whole country. From medieval tolls to pandemic pivots, this is a place shaped by centuries of hustle, drama, and a bit of good-natured chaos. As the laughter drifts through the bunting, it’s clear-come rain or shine, market day in St Albans is the very heartbeat of the city.
Now, are you ready to see what treasure you can find among the stalls? The ghosts of old abbots and mayors are probably hoping you go home with something nice… preferably not a wheel of cheese from 1287.
