Found this interesting list of the best market towns.
I love market towns, and although I don’t think I would necessarily have made any of the same choices in the only region I know well (the East) this looks like a pretty good list. I wish we lived somewhere which had the characteristics of some of these. FWIW, in the East, I would pick, Ely (ok, so I know it is a city), Woodbridge, Bury St Edmunds and Diss over John Gummer’s choices. But with Framlingham, I definitely agree with him.
SOUTH-EAST
Judge: Penelope Keith
1. ALRESFORD Hampshire.
It has a steam railway to Alton and its Millennium Trail is a successful new walk. Plenty of good shopping in aptly named Broad Street.
2. FAVERSHAM Kent.
The first town to be given a bypass (by the Romans), it has the oldest Cinque Ports charter, and thriving local company Shepherd Neame is the oldest surviving brewery in the country.
3. LEWES East Sussex.
In the foothills of the South Downs and close to the south coast. Its steep high street with its melée of period houses and ancient passageways-called twittens-give a special character.
EAST
JUDGE: THE RT HON JOHN GUMMER
1. MALDON Essex.
One of the least spoilt towns in Essex, it lies on the wide Blackwater estuary. There is a seafood month throughout September and an oyster festival. The Maldon mud race has recently been revived.
2. FAKENHAM Norfolk.
Famous for its mills, it also has a racecourse which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. There is a charter market every Thursday and a farmers’ market every month.
3. FRAMLINGHAM Suffolk
A town with a medley of architectural styles from timber-framed and Regency to Georgian red-brick and Victorian yellow-brick gives the town a distinct character and the curtain-walled castle is where Mary Tudor was proclaimed Queen.
NORTH
JUDGE: DAVID HOPE
1. BEVERLEY East Riding.
Beverley Minster towers over this country town. It has folk and literature festivals, and the Saturday market-with 140 stalls-dates back to the town’s charter in the Middle Ages.
2. HEXHAM Northumberland.
There has been a settlement here, 20 miles west of Newcastle, since Saxon times and it is the closest country town to Hadrian’s Wall. Among many useful stores, it has a violin shop. In 2001, the new market was judged the best Farmers’ Market in England and Wales by the National Farmers’ Union.
3. BARNARD CASTLE Co Durham.
Perched high on a bank overlooking the River Tees, it is home to the splendid château-style Bowes Museum.
MIDLANDS
JUDGE: BEN FOGLE
1. NANTWICH Cheshire.
A popular food and drink festival is held next month (September 23-25) among the Grade I-listed timber-framed houses. It also plays host to the world worm-charming championships.
3. ASHBOURNE Derbyshire.
Popular with tourists and locals, this largely Georgian town nestles in the Henmore valley on the edge of the Peak District. It has many small tea rooms and restaurants as well as specialist outdoor clothing and climbing equipment shops.
3. STAMFORD Lincolnshire.
Called ‘the finest scene between London and Edinburgh’ by Sir Walter Scott, this country town was one of the richest in England by the 14th century. It also benefited from the stagecoach era of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today, its riverside festival is one of the biggest free music and arts festivals in the area.
SOUTH-WEST
JUDGE: NOEL EDMONDS
1. TAVISTOCK Devon.
This country town has wonderful specialist shops (such as the famous N. H. Creber delicatessen), traditions (such as the Dickensian Christmas) and a great local paper. And it is all surrounded by stunning scenery and close to the rugged fastness of Dartmore National Park.
2. SHERBORNE Dorset.
A beautiful town with an abundance of medieval buildings, a superb Abbey, famous schools, picturesque almshouses and a new castle, as well as an old one. There are several societies, including a town brass band, and there is a regular market every Thursday and Saturday.
3. MARLBOROUGH Wiltshire.
There is plenty of room in this unusual country town for the twice-weekly market in England’s widest high street, which has yet to be swamped by chain stores. It also hosts one of the best jazz festivals in the country.
Fram?!?! I wouldn’t pick Fram. Particularly as it’s decended on by lots of tourists to look round the castle. I agree though, Woodbridge is lovely. Bury St. Eds is a bit big, and tends to smell a bit funny depending on which way the wind is blowing the sugar beet aroma. I also like Hadleigh and Lavenham.
Lavenham tends to be too full of foreigners (translation: people from London). I am quite partial to Hadleigh, but it is very quiet.
yes thats why I like it!! It is very quiet. (unless you’re within spitting distance of the high school, then it’s not very quiet at all). Lovely river walks, and out into the countryside. Enough shops to be useful. Few enough shops for it to not get busy.
would it be picky to point out that neither Nantwich (Cheshire) nor Ashbourne (Derbyshire) are particularly in the Middlands???
Depends how you define the Midlands, I suppose. I think it is customary to say that Derbyshire is in the East Midlands, even though it extends up North of Sheffield …. Cheshire is a rather different matter(????).
I’d have to vote for Nantwich .. being a Dabber. Having said that, Lewes is a fine and rather quaint town. Lewes on bonfire night is something to behold. From a distance, if you’re of a nervous disposition.
I was led to believe that Derby is geographically just about as central to England as you can get. So if Nantwich is not in the midlands – where is it? It’s due east of Derby – which is midlands, surely? Ashbourne’s only just up the road, too …
I think anywhere that plays host to the world worm charming championships has to be a contender. Still wondering when they moved it to the east of Derby though. 🙂
OK: so I’ve so sense of direction. West, then.
Pedant! ;^)
🙂