Traders in Shrewsbury ready to celebrate 60th birthday of town's market hall with new exhibition
Shrewsbury's market traders and shoppers are set to celebrate a diamond date for the town's iconic market hall, as the building turns 60 this month.
It's been almost six decades since Shrewsbury's Victorian-era market hall was pulled down and replaced with a futuristic-looking new building, after Shropshire Council had declared the former market "not fit for purpose".
The decision may have been controversial in 1965, but the new building and its imposing 250-foot clock tower has won a place in the town's heart, with more than 50 independent businesses, including retailers, cafes and bars, now calling the thriving market home.
Earlier this year, Shrewsbury's market was voted Britain's favourite for an unprecedented third year in a row, the fourth time it had scooped the award.
Now, the town's market traders are set to mark its 60th birthday with a special exhibition of the building's storied past.
The month-long exhibition will launch on the building’s official anniversary next Tuesday, September 16, to celebrate its history, market memories and the stories of its longest established traders.
Fascinating historical videos, telling the story of the building’s design, construction and opening, will form a central part of the exhibition, organisers say - while footage will also include a drone flight over the market hall and its iconic clock tower.
A series of displays will take visitors on a journey into the histories of the market’s longest-running businesses, some of which are more than 100 years old. There will also be a memory board of old photos and stories, taking visitors back in time.
Developed by the Second Covent Garden Property Company, the new Market Hall was arguably one of the most controversial buildings ever built in Shrewsbury.
The building was hailed a prime example of cutting-edge modern architecture when it was officially opened amid a blaze of publicity and civic pageantry on September 16, 1965. Construction on the project had lasted for around two years.
It cost £1 million to build and was designed by a respected architect of his day, David du Rieu Aberdeen, who was also responsible for the noted TUC Congress House building in Bloomsbury, variously described as a "modernist masterpiece".
At the time, the Shrewsbury Chronicle described the new building as "the newest and most modern building in the county" - adding that it had replaced a "Victorian monstrousity".
The exhibition will run until October 16.
