Pannier Market, Bideford

These rights were confirmed in a Charter of 1272 granted by Henry III at which time the Medieval market was located at the bottom of the present High Street, by the river.

[4] In 1750 the Manor of Bideford including the market rights passed to the hands of the Cleveland Family of nearby Tapeley Park in Instow.

A glimpse of the market at that time is presented by Bideford's first historian, John Watkins, who wrote "It is very well supplied with all kinds of provisions, and at a moderate rate."

In 1861 a tourist wrote "The whole building buzzed with a healthy, bustling good humoured crowd of women, and outside were the men, looking after the horse and pony market".

[5] In use also as a corn exchange, market days were Tuesdays and Saturdays and were visited by local people and traders from the rural villages around Bideford.

During times of hardship a soup kitchen operated in the hall and in 1942 a British Restaurant offering cheap meals to war workers was opened in the South West corner.

[9] The 1,000 square-metre covered market hall (described in 1889 as occupying '10,500 superficial feet'[5]) is reached from an external entrance on Honestone Street or from steps up from Butcher's Row.

[1][9] The local Council operates a free minibus shuttle service on Tuesdays and Saturdays running every twenty minutes, from 10.00 am to 2.40 pm, to and from the Market from a location on the Quay beside the Charles Kingsley statue at Victoria Park.