Accrington Market Hall.
 

Hi, maybe everyone is not aware that our Market Hall is having a facelift. Lets hope it DOES bring in the crowds!

Opened in 1869 - all masonry, brickwork, joinery, plumbing and glazing, flagging and slating carried out by Accrington companies. This lovely building still dominates our town centre. Another site, nearer to the railway station, was strongly favoured, but the final decision was taken to build it next to the Town Hall, then known as The Peel Institution. Many changes must have taken place over the years, and there will be many more to come. e.g. The toffee stall, and Nolans (cooked meats, etc) plus Feathers butchers stall are to be taken down, in preparation for alterations. How sad is that! Feathers though are just moving a few stalls away. Dont know if Nolans or the sweets stall are moving though. The
butchers has been there for 50 years that we know of. Wonder if it was a butchers before?

Apparently they are extending the "walkway" of the balcony above. The music stall will have to move temporarily I believe. l will post a few Market Hall photos. The last one is a view upstairs, on the balcony.

If anyone has any "market memories" that will be nice.

Atarah

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

The balcony will contain small business untis and retail units. The plan is that the retail units will be 'craft' based.

They recently add the roof done, the first thing it did when it rained last week was leak :confused:

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

the sweet shops moved already :D

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

can remember working the market 65 ish, fer Home Supplies who also had a shop on blackburn rd, next to the "Red Arrow" T.V.shop, they had n outside corner 4 stalls with boards across making a square of 6, on the corner near Uncle Dicks, i used to bring the stock up from the storerooms under the Market Hall at 6-00 at morning, are the under stores still in use? the butchers also had some of those storerooms so i assume they are still in use?

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Yes they are, I have one, although I will be vacating it in the next couple of weeks :)

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Market memories have been posted here on
many occasions but seem to go unnoticed.
If you ask a question.....wait for the reply.
What is your experience of Accrington Market
I can go back 50 years for the Butchers stalls......ask the question?

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

I worked for Slingers cooked meats.....it wasn't in the Market Hall, but in Peel Street.
I remember the wooden hut(painted green)...it housed a fabric stall and I think Catlows had a stall in there too...but I will stand corrected if anyone knows any different.

The market hall had Nolans, Lesters stocking stall, Greenwoods cheese stall.....which also sold crumpets, pikelets and oatcakes....there was Fairbrothers biscuit stall.......Lomax's cooked meats......Slingers had a butchers stall inside the Market Hall....there were a handful of butchers stalls.....Len's Bacon and cooked meats......Tommy Macs Butchers, Feathers butchers......it was a thriving market and folk came from all over to visit. I hope that the refurbishment will perhaps re-kindle the interest in the market.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

During my first few years at Accy High School I used to go for dinner every day to Peggys Cafe, with the niece of Peggy Morgan who owned it.
On non market days we were the only ones using it and we had to walk through the deserted Market Hall - deserted except for the butcher boys who were lined up on the gallery waiting for our arrival.
They bombarded us with wolf whistles and calls to 'come with me to the cellar'.
Being the well fetched up girls that we were, we pretended not to notice.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Margarets post about Slingers (me 1st job lol) was a great market hall character, worked at slingers in the market hall, passed away a few years ago, the late Harry Hawkins, or Mr Hawkins as all us young apprentices called him, was a great drinker but always great craic.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Cashy, Maybe I came to you to get extra sausages when the Peel St Shop ran out........and no lewd comments please:D....they were either pork or beef.....no other variety was ever accepted.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

My Nana used to send me there to buy her knickers. Big pink things with long legs and lots of elastic. I'd wander around the stall waiting for a quiet moment and then pick up three pairs and shove them in the assistant's hand. Even though I tried not to, I always said 'they aren't for me'!

Everytime I think of the Market Hall I think of that.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

He nearly killed me that barsteward..........he had a pop pop and offersd to take me down Dill Hall Lane to my home in Church.
I was very lucky to survive....He almost lost control at the bottom of the hill and I was so gratefull to reach the bottom.........He was a nutter.:)

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

why do ya think me n harry got on so well?:D he also learnt me to play poker when i was 15, at the boning factory at load of mischief, many a quid i won thanks to harry.:D

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

what as the name of the gents outfitters just to the left of the rear dooors (market side) which sold 'Ben Sherman' shirts ?

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

that was "Cliffs" mate, his mam Doris used to work yon as well, she lived next door to me when i was on Bamford Crescent.:)

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Cliffe Walmsley Eric, used to have an outfitters shop on Abbey Street too, just up from the GPO

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

People I know have recently vacated the fruit and veg stall in the market hall, they said the rent was crippling them, they said it was £1200 per month:eek:. I believe Pat in the cafe is also leaving. If the rent really is so much, I don't think any amount of refurbishment will bring new life to this beautiful building, the council should re-think the rents to encourage businesses into the hall.

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Great thread, I know we all like a moan but Accrington is so lucky not to have demolished it's hall unlike Burnley and Blackburn, I have some photos in The Gallery and yes we need to keeps rents to an absolute minimum

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Might be on the site already, but I haven't seen it before.

Market Square, Accrington.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

What a cracking photo Rindi

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

ooo it's the site of the bus station, nice one Gary

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Hi - I've done some of my maternal family history & have found out that my Gt. Gt. Grandfather John T. Wells was one of the 1st market stall holders of the NEW (1869) Accrington Indoor Market Hall. He was a Boot & Shoemaker by trade, but understand that he also sold 2nd hand books.

Attached is a photo of my maternal grandmother Mrs Evelyn Wells (nee Fielding) who worked for many years on Miss Billsborough' stall back in the late 50's & into the early 1960's. This photo was professionally taken by the Accrington newspaper photographer, perhaps to be used in a newspaper story, but haven't found anything on it yet - if of course it ever got into print...!

Looks like you had to wrap up warm otherwise the end of your nose & your toes would drop off.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

Wow a pinny and cardi stall! Pity I don't remember it.

Yes we wrapped up warm in those days - no heating and we weren't as soft as people today!

I think you're wrong there, I don't remember young ladies showing off their belly button rings no matter what the weather was like back when I was growing up.

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

The photo is fabulous! At first glance I would have thought it looked more like it was taken in somewhere like Moffitts shop which was in Church Street, the wooden shelves look to be such a permanent fixture. The old aprons (pinny's) remind me of the one I still have which belonged to my granny.
Thanks for posting it. Any more please?

Re: Accrington Market Hall.
 

worked on Lens indoor market during 70s best paid Saturday job in Accy at the time also did the cold outdoor stall with his daughter during the school hols those were the days