Otley Market
Otley has held a market since Saxon times but the recorded history really begins on 1st March 1222 when King Henry 3rd granted the first royal charter. The charter allowed the Lord of the Manor - the Archbishop of York - to hold a two day fair each year on the eve and the feast day of St Mary Magdalene. Originally the fair, ‘Otley Feast’ was held in the Parish churchyard and in the winter months in the nave itself - making it Yorkshire’s first supermarket.
In 1248, King Henry 3rd granted a further charter to Archbishop Grey for a weekly Monday market to be held. In 1290, goats cost one shilling and thre’punce each and the going rate for a good cow was six bob - 30p.
In days of yore the market sold butter, eggs, cheese, bread, wool, wood and livestock. The animals were tethered in nearby streets whilst bargaining and bartering took place at one of the town’s three market crosses. Just imagine streets lined with whinnying horses, bleating sheep, goats head down ready to charge or having a snack from the nearest washing line. Chickens and cockerels cackling and crowing, cows staring at passers by. Having milk delivered is one thing, but a whole cow on your doorstep!
From about 1650 onwards, the market was held every Monday in Cross Green - named after the old village green and market cross. The cross stood where now stands Otley Maypole opposite the Civic Centre in Boroughgate. Unfortunately, the original cross was destroyed by a lightning bolt in 1871. The first Maypole was also shattered in the same freak storm. Much of it landing on the roof of the Civic Centre.
A visit to Otley is worth taking by anyone, especially visitors from away. Look for ‘The Klondike’ or ‘Titty Bottle Park’. The Bramhope Tunnel Disaster Memorial. Walk in the footsteps of Thomas Chippendale or Turner. Visit the town’s markets or seek out the Kentucky Connection. Look for the Inn where Cromwell’s Ironsides are said to have drunk it dry. What is the connection between Mercury Row and one of the country’s leading authors. Also Otley’s Museum in the Civic Centre is highly recommend.
