England is a nation of Shopkeepers.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) quoting Adam Smith
From the eleventh or twelfth century, everyone made their way to their nearest market town by foot, horseback or cart to buy produce they couldn’t make or grow themselves. The alternative was to hope a pedlar or chapman walked past the cottage carrying what was needed – or do without. Depending on the royal charter, a market was held one or two days a week and is often held on the same day today. Under the gaze of the market cross, still standing at Salisbury, Malmesbury and Stalbridge among others, this medieval shopping precinct was where sellers, who paid a few pence to the lord of the manor for the privilege, displayed their produce on stalls, baskets or laid out in front of them. Market squares were open to the elements until the late 1700s or early 1800s when, in a spirit of gentrification, the good burghers built town halls, guildhalls and covered areas for the market stalls, many of which can still be seen. Examples include the town hall in Bridport, Godalming’s Pepperpot, Bath, Windsor and Stockport’s produce hall, built in 1851 and nicknamed the Hen Market.