The Market Memories
Project
recent history of the market
In the mid-1970’s the Mays Wholesale (Fruit and Vegetables) market was
moved to the Boucher Road. What was left were the weekly markets; the
poultry and egg market, the wholesale fish market, the variety market,
the weekly fruit and vegetable market (open-air) and Belfast Second-hand
and Flea Market.
In 1978 the Variety Market moved from across the
road (next door to the old Ulster Bank building) merged with the Flea
Market and moved into St George’s. (originally a plant and flower
wholesale market alongside a cash and carry.)
the market in trouble
In 1990 the Fruit and Vegetable stall-holders and the fish, poultry and
eggs also moved Into St Georges Over twenty years ago, this red-bricked,
iron-wrought, glass-covered, Victorian market building was in jeopardy.
The roof leaked where the glass was broken and it was run-down and
neglected and badly in need of restoration.
In August 1991 Belfast City Council (19 votes to
13) proposed to move St Georges Market to the car-park at the back of
the newly restored Smithfield Market. In essence this would have been an
open-air market. This was done with scarcely any consultation with the
customers and the traders .
the campaign to save the Market
Subsequently, these customers and traders organised
the Save St Georges Market Campaign, backed by local community
groups, the Markets Tenents’ Association,(now known as the Markets’
Development Association) the local history groups and local politicians.
The action plan was to raise a petition and this
resulted in approximately 40,000 signatures .backing the slogan ‘Preserving
the Old Alongside The New’. These signatures told City Hall that the
old building was too loved to be anything else but a market.
The Laganside area had all originally been the
Markets which had consisted of ten markets-:the hay market, the fish
market, the poultry market, the flower market, the livestock and cattle
market, the fruit and vegetable market, the variety market, the flea
market, the pig market and the potato market.
A ten-point action plan was presented to the
Estates Department (now the Development Committee in Belfast City
Council) and they agreed to set up a working group with the councillors,
council staff, Laganside Corporation, the National Market Traders
Federation and various other interested bodies.
There was a very strong public feeling about the
building because of what it meant to so many people. Although it
represented their livelihood to the traders, it was more than that. It
was part of a tradition. It stood in the middle of an area which had
been a large thriving community. Blacksmithing, leather trades, stables,
pounds, butcheries, abbatoirs, bakeries and all the skills associated
with food production had existed in the area. Customers’ childhood
memories were tied up in the sights and smells of the area. Several
generations of market families had plied their trade there. There was a
strong feeling of nostalgia for the last remaining vestige of an old way
of life. This was what St George’s Market meant to many people.
the restoration of the market
In 1993, the market traders and the council agreed
to make an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore and
refurbish the building. At that time the traders were still in the
market and the work was carried out in three phases allowing the market
to continue to trade unabated.
The market floor area consists of approximately
42000 square feet, so this was quite an achievement in logistics. The
shop units were restored. An asbestos roof was replaced. The floor was
lifted and the old Victorian drainage replaced with more up-to date
fittings. The building was completed in 1998.
about the Market Memories project
Now, just over ten years later, traders and
customers have joined forces again and the Friends Of St
George’s Market are now proud to present
“Market Memories”
Through the granting of a Heritage Lottery grant and in association with
Belfast City Council-:
· We plan to archive the memories of some of the major participants and
protagonists in the life of St George’s Market. This will be done in
association with Northern Visions and the
Ulster Peoples College.
· We will cajole and inspire people to participate in a Victorian-themed
weekend of Market celebrations, with local choirs, brass bands, music
and street theatre taking you through the birth and progress of the
building. Traders have promised to dress up and customers are invited to
get into the Victorian spirit with prizes for best trader and customer
costumes.
· We would like to pass on an understanding and appreciation of
traditional skills, hopefully presenting them as relevant to this
generation. This will be done through a season of demonstrations of
skills such as linen-making, blacksmithing, traditional bread-making,
urban bee-keeping, gardening etc
· We also want to encourage an appreciation of seasonal local foods,
anecdotes, recipes poems and images as a legacy from the project. This
will be loosely in the form of a cookery book –
The Market Memories
Cookery Book.
· and
Ultimately, the aim of the project is to attract the local and wider
community to participate in the life and spirit of St George’s Market.
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more details of the Celebrations are on the Market Memories page on this
website
HERE
on the flyer
HERE
on the Belfast City Council website
HERE
and on the friendsofstgeorgesmarket Facebook page
HERE
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