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Celebrating 100 Years of Markets 1919-2019
I
t is a hundred years since the first WI market opened in Lewes in East Sussex, and
here in Kingsbridge the weekly Country Market is set to join the celebrations across the country. Although our records are incom- plete it is fairly certain that the Kingsbridge WI first opened its marketing doors in 1951, welcom- ing the public to sample the wares on offer. Jam and Jerusalem had a commercial presence in Fore Street, along with cakes, plants, flowers and craft items. Although the official name of the market has changed and many producers have come and gone Kingsbridge Coun- try Market remains. Although there is no longer a queue of eager buy- ers patiently waiting for the doors of the Town Hall to open at 8.00am precisely, we still have a loyal band of Wednesday morning supporters, augmented by visitors eager to buy goods which are guaranteed to
dinated and registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act. Both men and women could be registered as producers and shareholders by buying a share for one shilling (this rule still applies in 2019 with shares at 5p. No inflation here then!).
be ‘home-made, home-grown or hand-crafted’ in the South Hams.
To Market to Market In December 1919 a WI market was set up in Lewes – the first of its kind. This sprang from a realisation by a Miss Brand of the East Sussex Agricultural Executive Committee that here was potential to persuade villagers (smallholders, cottagers and ex-servicemen) to produce more food in their gardens and allotments. This would increase the food supply after the domestic hardships of World War I. (There had been an earlier market set up in Criccieth in the summer of 1916, a short term arrangement which folded once the war ended). The initial venture in Lewes was a suc- cess, and more and more WI groups combined to provide cooperative sharing companies, providing opportunities for people to learn about, and benefit from, natural methods of composting, and methods of preserving excess fruit and vegetables. During WW2 the ‘Digging for Victory’ campaigns and the necessity for home-pro- duced food further boosted the popularity of the WI markets, which since 1932 had been officially coor-
From Name to Name, from Time to Time So where is the ‘WI Market’ now? Its name changed from the original ‘Kingsbridge WI Market Stall Ltd’ in the early 1990s when we joined the County WI Markets Society. We were no longer an independent limited company, which didn’t please everyone, but as old Minute books show there has always been healthy disagreement in the market place! Glances at the old Minute books reveal for example that the question of overalls reared its ugly head in 1985, with some stallhold- ers refusing to wear them! Aprons still prove an entertaining issue over 30 years later - particularly when stallholders forget to remove them before hurrying down Fore Street to do their own shopping! In 1987 Mrs Macdonald was
delegated to attend to the order-
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