About Stratford-upon-Avon Markets
Stratford-upon-Avon is one of the premier tourist destinations in the country and the town’s markets play an important role in promoting the town as a tourist destination.
Market History
Following the suppression of the Guild of the Holy Cross, King Edward VI granted a charter of incorporation to Stratford-upon-Avon on 28 June 1553. The charter conferred on the inhabitants a borough constitution comprising the right to hold, and collect tolls from, a weekly Thursday market and two annual fairs.
At that time, most country dwellers wishing to exchange their farm produce for items they could not make for themselves depended almost entirely on towns within a radius of five miles or so. As a result, places like Stratford-upon-Avon had fairs and a weekly market because it was particularly well-placed to serve as a market centre, due to the important crossing of the River Avon where several routes converged.
In 1819 under the authorisation of George III the Charter Market was changed to a Friday, the reason for the change was to avoid competition with markets in other nearby towns.
The Market Today
In September 2012, the market contract was awarded to Geraud UK Ltd. Geraud (UK) Ltd is part of Groupe Geraud which is the largest operator of local authority markets in Europe operating more than 1300 market days each week and is the largest French private operator of retail markets. Local authorities are, with only a few exceptions, Groupe Geraud’s main clients and as such the business is focused on the provision of services to local authorities.
