Market and Market House, St. Agnes.
Why was Queen Anne’s patent revoked?
For centuries St Agnes held a weekly market on a Thursday when people from St Agnes and the outlying districts came to purchase goods from the many standings and stalls which lined the roadside in the Churchtown area.
In the BOOK OF ST AGNES, Descriptive Official Guide of 1925 it says:
From time immemorial a weekly market has been held at St. Agnes on Thursdays; but of late years, owing to the decline in mining and population, the market has been neglected. In the reign of Queen Anne, however (1706), the historian, Mr. Tonkin of Trevaunance, procured the Queen’s patent for the establishment of a market and two annual fairs. The writ made provision for the sale of all commodities except corn and cattle. It was duly signed by the Queen, but in consequence of a petition from the people of Truro, it was again revoked, and this particular endeavour proved abortive. From that time, however, the market has been carried on with all the authority that a Royal Charter could confer.
But why was it revoked? Thomas Tonkin in the 18th century wrote:
…but after the writ ad quod damnum had been duly executed, and the Queen’s Sign Manuall obtained, it was, on a Petition of the Burrough of Truro, underhand opposed by the very same person who had promised me their assistance in it: and so it has rested ever since to the no small loss of the whole parish.
Market day on a Thursday didn’t suit everyone, St Agnes miners were paid on a Friday or Saturday. In 1830 two mine captains decided to organise a Saturday market for the benefit of the locals, it proved to be a great success as a letter to the Editor of the Royal Cornwall Gazette newspaper of the 30th October shows:
Dear Sir, Perhaps it might be gratifying to this and neighbouring parishes to learn that this market we announced, took place on Saturday last, and that, not withstanding the shortness of notice and the advertisement having appeared in the journals only the same or previous days, it was attended by many respectable vendors and a great number of purchasers, thereby evinced their approval of the arrangements…Much credit is due to the mine captain, who together with his coadjunctors, have in contemplation the building of a market house on an extensive scale, for the convenience of both buyer and seller.
It is not known how long the Saturday market lasted but around 1840 a Market House was built in Churchtown in front of the church. It stretched from todays lychgate to the top of Town Hill. It was a large building reducing the width of the road considerably.
At a meeting ot the Board of Highways on the 26th August 1841, it was agreed:
…that no Standings be placed in the street to the south of the front door of Mr. Wm. Rowe’s House; no Basket or Standing be placed within one foot of the curb stone on each side of the road; no Basket or Standing be placed outside the Market House lately erected by Messrs. Nettle and Ennor…
Unfortunately we do not know the layout of the building inside. The windows in photographs suggest it had two floors but what were they used for? Wikipedia defines a Market House as:
…a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with space for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a jail or lockup in the cellar or basement floor. Market houses usually included an arcade to protect traders and their goods from the elements while maintaining private access to most of the building.
It seems likely that part or all of the upstairs was accommodation for the caretaker. The 1841 census states that a Mr Tonkin was employed as the caretaker of the Market House; he also lived in the building.
The Market House would have been used on the Thursday market day but was it used every day? Were their permanent shops or stalls inside? The following appeared in the Cornubian and Redruth Times on the 28th March 1890:
Will sell by auction over the Market House, St. Agnes, on Monday next, March 31st, at 3 o’clock a lot of DRAPERY, Tea, Candles, Scales, Treacle Cistern, &c.[etc]. The property of a party declining Shop-keeping.
Mrs Moore, reminiscing for Women’s Institute book of 1951, described the Thursday market held in the Market House:
The village was crowded. Fruit and vegetables and meat were sold and later, when the Market House was taken down, meat was still sold from a wooden booth in front of the hotel.
In February 1894 the market house came up for sale by auction. The Royal Cornwall Gazette of the 22nd Febuary 1894 under the heading T.R. Mills reported:
The sale of the Market House, St. Agnes, was effected at Paull’s Hotel, on Monday, by Mr. T. R. Mills, auctioneer. The property comprised in the sale consisted of the freehold market-house, stores, carpenter’s shop, &c.[etc], stated to be worth £22 per annum, the property of Mr. C.A.V. Conyweare, M.P. The biddings were started by Mr Delbridge, and finally knocked down to Mr. Martin at a higher price than was expected. It was a very spirited sale…
A couple of weeks later on the 9th March the following appeared in the Cornubian and Redruth Times:
The Market House property of St Agnes, lately sold to Mr. Conybeare, will probably be puchased of the gentleman who then acquired it, in order to improve the town and open up a view of the church.
On the 6th June 1895 the Royal Cornwall Gazette newspaper under IMPROVEMENT AT ST. AGNES reported:
Rev. A. Rudall presided at a meeting of subscribers to the Market House Fund, St Agnes. The offer of £5 by the District Council for the portion of ground shown on the plan submitted to them, to widen the road, was accepted on condition that no stipulations as to the treatment of the other part should be made. The fencing of the site being a public matter generally, it is hoped funds will be given for the purpose, whilst the Church authorities will lay out the space within the proposed rails. At present the treasurer, Mr. Isaac Rowse, has only £25 in hand, the amount required being about £45.
The demolition of the Market House started but not as quickly as some people wanted. The following appeared in the Royal Cornwall Gazette of the 29th August 1895, under St Agnes notes:
Whilst touching on Church matters, may I ask the following question:
“When may we expect the completion of the tearing down of the old Market House and the property railed off…”
The Market House was eventually demolished, the road was widened and access to the church greatly improved. Nothing of the building remains today but there is still a clue as to how far it projected into the road. Later photographs show cobbles in front of the church about four feet out into the road. These cobbles were to the front corner of the Market House. Today the cobbles in front of the church have been covered in tarmac to allow safer access to the church. The yellow lines, however, still show the line of the old cobbles.
We can only imagine what Churchtown would be like if it was still there today.
All photograph are copyright of The Clive Benney Collection.
Clive Benney Is a local historian, author and Cornish Bard. He is the recorder of St Agnes Old Cornwall Society and Vice Chairman of the St Agnes Museum Trust. His books are available at the St Agnes Museum online shop.
