Newcastle’s historic Grainger Market — which houses the world’s smallest branch of Marks & Spencer — is about to undergo an £800,000 revamp. Opened in 1835 the market celebrates its 180th anniversary this year.
At the heart of the city’s Grainger Town conservation area, the Grade I listed covered market houses more than 100 traders and small businesses and attracts more than seven-million visitors each year. One of its most photographed stalls is Marks and Spencer’s Original Penny Bazaar, still painted in its original livery and adorned with an array of gas lamps.
In contrast, the market lost another of its long-term tenants on Valentine’s Day this year when Newcastle-based baker Greggs closed its store in the market. At the time a spokeswoman admitted: “Greggs is an iconic North-East brand and the Grainger Market is an historic building — you would have thought the two were made for each other.
“However, our priority for the next two to three years is to improve the quality of our existing estate and we are currently reshaping it through a combination of shop relocations, reformatting and some shop closures.”
Newcastle City Council has yet to grant permission for the project, but says work should start by June. “This is the biggest upgrade at the market in 10 years and means we can refurbish all 14 of the entrances which need updating,” explained the authority’s director of communities, Mick Murphy. “We are trying to encourage more footfall through the market from the surrounding streets, and make it much more inviting to shoppers and visitors.”
He added the number of people visiting the market had “greatly increased since its presence on Tripadvisor, where it gets great reviews, and we want to see this grow”.
The latest project is the biggest investment in the John Dobson-designed market since 2005, when £3.3m was spent on refurbishing more than 70 units, upgrading the public toilets, installing CCTV and drawing up a conservation master plan with English Heritage. This year’s work is being financed through the council’s Capital Investment Fund.
Once the largest indoor market in Europe, at the time of its opening Grainger Market was described by the Evening Chronicle as being “the most magnificent in the world”. It has survived numerous fires and was only lightly damaged by German bombing during the Second World War. It is now the largest single building within Newcastle’s Grainger Town 450-building conservation area — 49 of which are Grade II and 29 Grade I listed.
