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£1m makeover to save Gravesend Borough Market

Gravesend Borough Market has been earmarked for a £1 million makeover in a bid to bring in more shoppers.

The plans have been submitted by Clay Architecture on behalf of Gravesham council.

Back in March, town hall bosses asked the firm to carry out a study on how best to regenerate the market.

Plans of how the new-look Gravesend Borough Market could look
Plans of how the new-look Gravesend Borough Market could look

The building itself, Clay Architecture says, is “tired and run down and in need of repair and refurbishment”.

The number of people visiting the market has declined and the renovation is seen by the council as an important thread to link both the High Street and Queen Street and to act as a draw for businesses away from busier New Road.

Last week, we exclusively revealed that Gravesham council was bidding for £140,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Kent County Council to spruce up the town’s clock tower with a clean-up and colour-changing lighting.

Council leader John Burden said: “We’ve seen and heard people’s concerns about the market.

Typical Saturday morning scene in Gravesend market in 1959
Typical Saturday morning scene in Gravesend market in 1959

“It’s been going down for some time and it needs support and a lot of refurbishment.

“With Coastal Funding, which is EU cash, we could get a lot of money but it requires us to have full planning permission before we can proceed.

“We need to demonstrate public support for what we want to do which is bring back the sky lights into the roof, completely refurbish the interior and open up the centre of the building and have the indoor cafe open out onto the outdoor market.

“If the Heritage Quarter scheme goes ahead, that will then open out onto the Market Square they want to create.”

Mr Strong selling chinaware and goods for the home with a sales pitch full of quips and gags in 1959
Mr Strong selling chinaware and goods for the home with a sales pitch full of quips and gags in 1959

The town’s market was established in 1268 and came as a grant from Henry III to the Manor of Parrock for a market to run every Saturday with an annual fair in June.

The main plans for the market hall are to reintroduce high-level roof lights which will not only improve the lighting but be used as a screen to stop the glare during the summer months.

There are also plans to introduce fixed stall structures along the outside walls complete with roofs, roller shutters and removable partitions to offer flexibility in stall sizes.

The first Gravesend market build in 1898.
The first Gravesend market build in 1898.

The middle of the market will be kept clear, although it could be used for temporary stall holders.

The report states: “The photographs from the 1950s demonstrate that smaller stalls and a greater variety of products and produce on sale can be attractive to customers and can create better footfall.

“The temporary stalls enable the flexibility to clear the central space for farmers’ or other markets, street musicians, band performances, dances or other events, which will help turn the market into a venue or destination and draw more visitors to the market.

“The smaller stalls will also enable a clear view from one end of the hall to the other. The view is currently obstructed by large stalls in the middle of the space which creates a tunnel effect, not necessarily conducive to a pleasant shopping experience.”

The Borough Market in Gravesend
The Borough Market in Gravesend

The cafe will move from the old fish market end to the market hall in a bid to capture more people using the area as a cut-through between the High Street and Queen Street.

The cafe will also be opened up onto the square to allow people to sit outside.

The side doors on Market Square will be repaired and refurbished so they can open fully. The canopy on Market Square will also be replaced with a brick structure.

A decision on the plans is expected by next month and, if approved, work could start next year.

The market through time:

1268 - the town’s market was established in 1268 for a market to run every Saturday with an annual fair in June.
1366 - a second charter granting a market was issued by Edward III to the ‘men of the town’ for a market every Thursday.
1562 - a charter of incorporation to the people of Gravesham and Milton said that the area was in “great ruin and decay by reason they have not a common market holden in the town”.
1573 - the first town hall was constructed with the market held beneath.
1632 - a third charter of incorporation by Charles I allowed for two weekly markets on Mondays and Thursdays although the grant was seized by Charles II in 1684 and the annual fair was abandoned during the great plague.
1693 - another charter allowed for a weekly market on Wednesdays and Saturdays and for an annual fair in April.
1694 - the market becomes the property of the Corporation when it purchases the Manor of Parrock and all its privileges including the market from George Etkins, then owner of Manor.
By the end of the 18th Century, the market is formed by an open cobbled way with stalls on each side. Stalls were under permanent cover, with stalls on one side for clothes, poultry in the centre and fish at the western end.
1815 - the fish market moved to its present place in Queen Street.
In November 1817, the mayor and corporation commissioned an investigation into the state of the market and £2,000 was raised to enlarge it with plans by Charles Fowler, the architect who designed the buildings in the piazza at Covent Garden in 1826.
The first stone for the new market was laid in 1818.
The market was built with a flight of stairs off Queen Street leading to a colonnaded covered building leading to an open space with two parallel colonnades 80 feet in length on each side. Seven years later the fish market was built at the back of the town hall and the bell would ring to mark the opening and closing time.
By the end of the 1880s, the market was failing to attract business and the Wednesday market ceased and consideration was given to closing it down. The old market was removed and the new hall, as it is now, was put up in the 1890s.
1898 - the statue of Queen Victoria was put at the top end of the hall. There were rough cobbled floors and lighting came from oil lamps.
During this time, politicians would hold meetings in the hall and there would be dances, pageants, boxing matches and roller skating sessions. These stopped at the beginning of the First World War and never returned.
1924 - the Rochester Fat Stock Show and Sale was held at the market because of restrictions laid down due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
Up until the Second World War, the Saturday market never really came alive until after 6pm when the pubs opened. Trading would go on until 11pm and on Christmas Eve, trading could go on until 2am.
Throughout the Second World War the market was used to store the furniture of families who had their homes bombed.
July 1970 - the market was extended on the site of the old fire station, mortuary, weights and measures department and Corporation buildings.
January 1971 - traders were left angry after changes were proposed including making the outside market a car park.
September 1976 - bars were added to the windows to deter thieves after a series of burglaries.

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