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The history of Guernsey's Market Buildings and its meat, flower, and vegetable trades are being celebrated through an informative exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the iconic St. Peter Port location.
The gallery is chronologically ordered, taking visitors on a journey through the buildings’ history from 1795 to the present day peppered with fascinating stories, photographs, newspaper articles and architectural drawings.
It’s open to the public from today for two months in the George Crossan Gallery, which is upstairs inside the market.
Many contributors helped bring the exhibition to life with artefacts from places including the Island Archives, Guernsey Museums, Priaulx Library, Deane Photographic Archives, and the Occupation Museum.
The original meat market, now New Look, opened in October 1822 with the Arcades following in 1830, the Inner Street and the Flower Market - now Land of Green Ginger - came about in the late 1800s.
The exhibition has created a timeline of the last 200 years and includes photographs of events such as the Proclamation of a number of Kings and the late Queen, the Proclamation of Peace in 1919 and German troops during the island’s occupation.
Cow Lane was used to slaughter imported cattle from ships as local meat production could not sustain the growing population in the early 19th century.
The alley was also used to market the meat, with customers having to squeeze past the hanging carcasses between the quay and Church Square.
When some of the island’s elite decided to build assembly rooms in the square, now the Guille-Allès Library, they chose to give some of the ground floor space to a meat market.
It soon grew so popular that the States of Guernsey agreed to construct a dedicated meat market which cost around £5,500 the 1820’s. This was paid for by government issued and interest-free bank notes, rather than through borrowing or tax increases.
Pictured: The hustle and bustle of the Square in 1866.
A large section is dedicated to the major renovations undertaken at the site between 2001 and 2007 which created the current markets comprising of numerous shops and eateries and other facilities.
It details when the entire building was stripped back to its shell, including removing and rebuilding the Fountain Street façade and digging out the bonded stores to create a connection from that lower level of the building to the Market Square level.
Director of Bailiwick Estates, Sonia Taylor commented: “The Market has played a vital role in Guernsey's history and community for 200 years, and continues to do so, and we are delighted to be celebrating this milestone to honour the building’s past and look forward to its future.
“Researching the timeline has been fascinating. It’s been so interesting to speak to so many people who have their own personal experiences and memories as well as learn more about the history of the buildings.
“We have some great pictures from the 1940s to present day and are sure people will enjoy picking out their relatives and friends. We invite the community to come along and play a part in this special celebration.”
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A gallery of images from the exhibition can be viewed below:
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