A long tradition of market trading

Please note that this text is an extract from a reference work written in 1990.  As a result, some of the content may not reflect recent research, changes and events.

g) OPEN MARKET, Marshall’s Row: Started in Oxford Street in 1919 as an unorganised collection of barrows, mainly owned by ex-servicemen. They were soon moved to the central rose-walk of The Level, but following a campaign by Harry Cowley ;a permanent site for the mobile barrows opened on the gardens of the cobble-fronted cottages of Marshall’s Row on 19 November 1926. The cottages were demolished in 1938, and the present permanent retail market with forty-two stalls was opened on 7 January 1960 by the Duke of Norfolk. {291,311}

h) CATTLE MARKET: A cattle market was established in the workhouse grounds on Church Hill in 1831, but was soon discontinued due to a lack of pasturage {7}.

j) CORN MARKET: A corn market was held at the Old Ship from around the turn of the nineteenth century, but was transferred to the King and Queen in Marlborough Place by 1822. In October 1868 the market, which was held on Thursdays, was removed to the former Royal Pavilion riding school in Church Street which was renamed the Corn Exchange. It continued until the First World War when the building was used as part of a military hospital {24,194}.

k) FISH MARKET: see Fishing

l) MEAT MARKET: The town’s wholesale meat market was formerly situated in Russell Street, in a building originally erected in 1876-7 as the Church of the Resurrection. Built for the Revd Arthur Wagner, it was intended as a simple chapel of ease to St Paul’s for the fishermen of the area. The adjacent Cannon Brewery objected to the proposed height of the building, so the architect, R.H.Carpenter, built it partly below ground; it was reached by thirty-two steps. The red-brick exterior was extremely plain, while the interior had a north aisle and a very tall nave. The church was consecrated in 1878 but closed in about 1912, and it was then used as a meat market until it was demolished in 1968 for the Churchill Square scheme. The market was replaced by a new facility adjacent to the abattoir at Upper Hollingdean Road. {62,64a,65,83,123}

Any numerical cross-references in the text above refer to resources in the Sources and Bibliography section of the Encyclopaedia of Brighton by Tim Carder.

Comments about this page

  • Does anyone remember a greengrocer by the name of Carlsson? She would be in her 80s now. She was from the Hove area and went to the Church of England church. She had five children and two were twins. One child was called Sandra and I am trying to find her whereabouts. Sandra had a daughter called Yvette and would be 63 now.

    By Zara (03/12/2007)

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