Hello, Berko!
March is here, the clocks go forward soon and spring is starting to feel just a little more sprung.
This week, sit down with the team behind Berko's newest addition to its Sunday market calendar — the Artisan & Makers Market — ahead of its return to the High Street this weekend. It turns out there's more to it than lovely stalls.
On our stall this week:
Behind the Counter
What's happenin' this week
Sports, dogs & music
Let's get into it.
Berko has been a market town since Saxon times. It was the policy of the Saxons that all retail trade should be conducted at markets and Berko has had one ever since. The market was formally recognised by royal charter in 1217 under Henry III, who also decreed that no rival market could set up within seven miles. By then, the High Street was already full of goldsmiths, brewers, tailors, butchers and wool merchants. In the 1300s, Berko was considered one of the best market towns in the country. I’d say it still is.
Over 800 years later, that tradition is alive and well. The High Street already has the Antiques & Vintage market on the first Sunday and the Farmers Market on the third, and since last year there's been a new addition to the calendar. The Artisan & Makers Market pitches up on the second Sunday and every penny of the pitch fees goes directly to two local heritage charities.
At a time when plenty of towns are wondering how to keep their centres alive, Berko keeps finding people who just get on with it. We caught up with the team ahead of this Sunday's market (8th March) to find out what's behind it all.