Page 45 - Market Times October 2024

FEATURE • MORETON‐IN‐MARSH
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Neil Stodd has the anchor fruit and veg stall on the market. His grandfather started the family business in Leicester and he has been selling fruit and veg on markets since he left school at 16 38 years ago
scarves. “It was a brilliant market when Grenchurch started it,” he said. “They used to bus people in from all the villages. They stopped that about 10 years ago so we rely on the coaches now. We have all sorts of customers, and we always have a laugh and a joke,” he added.
Among the businesses that focus on tourists is an impressive stall selling animal skins, baskets and wooden items. Mario Nawiesniak, who is Polish, explains that his family has been living in the UK for more than a decade, but the business called Sheep and Chic pivots between the two countries. The skins are cured in Poland and much of the basketware and wood items are made there.
“We do well on this market selling to
Clare Swift runs a business specialising in natural, organic handmade candles, aromatherapy and skin care products
tourists and some locals,” he said. Another trader, Clare Swift, is on a
mission with the wellness business she started four years ago during lockdown. She began making natural, organic aromatherapy and skin care products and candles.
“I researched the health benefits of lavender and rosemary which are my key ingredients and my mission to to provide affordable, natural, organic products to my community,” Clare said.
Everything she sells is plastic free. All jars are reusable, and Clare offers a refill service. “I began selling on this market in March and I love it,” she said. “It’s the mix of locals and tourists and the many different things traders here are selling.”
FACTS & FIGURES
l Market day: Tuesday
l Market rent: £30 for all year
traders. £37 for traders who only stand the market in the summer months
l Moreton-in-Marsh’s claim to fame: surrounded by the Cotswold Hills, Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire grew from the wool and clothmaking industry and was also a stopping point for London stagecoaches. These days it is a bustling market town with a high street packed with independent shops and eateries that attract coachloads of tourists