In another defeat for Mayor Sir Horace Darwin, Market Hill was not turned into a permanent covered market following the defeat of a motion supported by hundreds of people calling for a permanent indoor market in Cambridge.
Detailed in the Cambridge Chronicle of 16 April 1897, digitised by the British Newspaper Archive, the issue of a covered market was one that had repeatedly come up at Cambridge Borough Council, with councillors being unable to agree on whether or not to build one.
The 1897 article covers the town council meeting of the previous morning, and a part of that meeting was dedicated to the issue. That excerpt reads as follows:
The Proposed Covered Market
“The Town Clerk read a memorial, signed 372 persons, in favour of covering Market Hill with a permanent covering of iron and glass. Councillor Nichols said he cordially agreed with the views of the memorialists, and moved that the matter be referred to the Market Committee for their consideration. Everybody must agree with him that their market its present state was a disgrace our common civilisation.” [Laughter]. No one could go into market on a bad day without seeing the bad results arising from Inadequate accommodation given to those people whom they invited there; extracted heavy tolls and gave them no accommodation whatever. If they granted the prayer of the memorialists it would be great pecuniary gain to the Corporation.
“They were now paying at least a year to put wretched rotten posts and cloths to cover them. It was a burning shame to have such disgrace amongst them. That £l00 per annum would be great measure saved if they covered the market The building would get good rental and it would an excalleut investment for the Corporation. They could borrow money at 3 per cent, and the building would make 10 or 20 per cent.
“The Mayor [Cllr, later Sir Horace Darwin] said had great pleasure in seconding the proposition.
“Councillor Flick asked the Town Clerk whether the charges were not very moderate and whether they were not fixed by Act of Parliament?
“The Town Clerk: I cannot say whether they are moderate or not; that is matter of opinion. They are fixed by Act of Parliament.
“Ald. Dr. Porter inquired whether it would not well for the Committee also to consider the possibility of providing covered market elsewhere. He thought it would be a great misfortune to cover the Market Hill. it would ruin the beauty of the place.
“Councillor Nichols accepted Ald. Dr. Porter’s suggestion.
“Ald Spalding said he could not imagine that the Council in these progressive days would commit itself to an expenditure which must necessarily be required for the purpose of providing a covered market. He was astonished that any member of the Council could get up and talk for ten minutes upon proposal to erect Ike abomination which was illustrated by the engraving, which had been sent to the Council. He could not imagine anything so disastrous to Cambridge as to cover ths market with the wretched abomination suggested by that engraving.
“Councillor Banham and Councillor F Morley suggested that a vote taken aa to whether the Market Rill covered in or not. The motion was lost by 14 votes against 7.”
Not the first attempt to build a covered market place
The British Newspaper Archive reveals that there were previous attempts to build a covered market on Market Hill, Cambridge. The first attempt listed in the archive is from 1854, where Great St Mary’s Church were the main opponents.
The other big barrier facing the council and the improvement commissioners of the day was the debt incurred by the Cambridge Improvement Commissioners to pay for the sanitation of the town. It would be a few more decades before the Local Government Act of 1888 would give us the set up of local government we are more familiar with today.
Lost Cambridge 