Covered Market

The Covered Market stands in central Oxford, under a large roof between Cornmarket Street and Turl Street. It sits north of the High Street, with Market Street to the north and Golden Cross alley to the west. Four entrances open onto the High Street and four onto Market Street. A narrow alley called Golden Cross leads in from Cornmarket, lined with small up-market shops. The market building itself is a Grade II listed structure, protected for its historic value. The market opened on 1 November 1774 to clear messy stalls from Oxford’s main streets. John Gwynn, who designed Magdalen Bridge, drew the plans and created the High Street front with its four entrances. The original estimate for twenty butchers’ shops came to £916 10s, paid by a committee half from the town and half from the university. Soon twenty more shops followed, and after 1773 meat could only be sold inside the market. From these beginnings the market grew to include greengrocers, fishmongers, dairy stalls and pig meat sellers. Today the market still houses many traders, about half selling food such as fresh produce, butchers and bakeries. Some butchers make the Oxford sausage, while greengrocers and sandwich shops serve daily shoppers. Gift shops and newer businesses have joined the original stalls, though most shops are now larger than before. Visitors enter through the High Street or Market Street doors, or via Golden Cross from Cornmarket. The building received a £1.6 million repair programme in 2017, including roof work and new paving. In May 2017 Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited, giving the market royal recognition.