The Market Place

A market has been held in Bourne for more than 700 years under a royal charter granted to the Lord of the Manor of Bourne, Baldwin Wake, by King Edward I in 1279. The charter gave permission for it to be held on a Saturday and this tradition has continued to the present day although a Thursday market was later added and this has become the more popular of the two. The manorial rights were subsequently acquired by the Cecil family whose distinguished member William Cecil became the first Lord Burghley and his descendants, the Marquesses of Exeter, continued to receive the market tolls until recent times although they are collected today by South Kesteven District Council that is now responsible for its administration.

The market continued in the town centre, along the western kerbsides in North Street and West Street, until the closing years of the 20th century when increasing traffic flows made road conditions too hazardous for shoppers and in 1983, it was moved to a purpose built paved area behind the town hall, planned as part of the Burghley Arcade and Corn Exchange developments on the site of the old cattle market that had closed two years earlier. 

Traders were at first dubious about the move on the grounds that the new location would not attract sufficient custom but their fears have been unjustified and market days continue to be an occasion for buying bargains as well as creating a crowded social occasion, especially on fine summer days. The site for the new market is particularly relevant in the history of the town because the shambles or stalls incorporated in the plans for the new town hall of 1821 provide a direct link between our present modern market and that of past times.

A detailed history of markets and fairs in Bourne can be found
on the CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne

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