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Markets and fairs have been part of the fabric of the economy of the Newry and Mourne area for centuries. Although the market in Newry has medieval origins, the modern market can be traced back to the right to hold a market every Thursday in Newry which was granted to Arthur Bagenal in 1613 by King James I. The strategic position of Newry with its hinterland in counties Down, Louth and Armagh meant that its markets through the centuries served a wide geographical area.
Lord Kilmorey built the Butter Crane Quay in 1808 to accommodate Newry’s large butter trade business. A butter taster was appointed whose duty it was to taste the butter in each cask or crock and mark it according to its quality. A record from the 1830’s states that thousands of casks of butter were exported to Liverpool. Markets were now held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The Town of Newry Byelaws for the Regulation of Markets in 1874 illustrates the wide range of markets in the town in the late 19th century. Needham Street Market was a wholesale market for grain, meal, pork and grass-seed. Needham Street - West comprised live pigs and sheep. Butter Crane Quay Market was for the sale of butter in firkins, butts, crocks, boxes and barrels. It also sold flax. Mary Street Market – South sold potatoes, vegetables and fruit, fish, game, turkeys, chickens, wildfowl and rabbits. At Mary Street – North you could get hay, straw, turf, bog-wood, flax-bands, vetches, grass, green-feeding for cattle, buttermilk, cooper’s, wood-turner’s and carpenters work, farming implements, earthenware, baskets, rods and tin-ware. Old and new furniture, ‘wearing’ apparel and marine stores were available in Hide Terrace Market. And finally, in Market Street Market, print and lump butter, cheese and eggs were for sale, with a retail market for fruit and vegetables.
Newry monthly fair for the sale of all livestock was held on the first Monday of each month, throughout the year, in the Markets at East and West Needham Street. There were many regulations included in the byelaws including, for example, butcher’s shops were to be washed at least once a week, no fish to be coloured, no dogs, swearing or smoking in any market.
The market rights were transferred to the Town Commissioners in 1881. The market for some items, such as pork, flax and fowl, were taken off the streets and moved to a more suitable location within the town. Another change was the setting aside one day in the months of January, April, June, August and November for the sale of cattle and horses only.
Not only were fair and markets used to sell goods and livestock, there were also hiring fairs in the town where farmers bargained for labour, much on the same lines as buying and selling cattle. The hiring fairs took place in and around Mill Street, Hill Street and North Street. Hiring fairs were important to the rural economy and, in next week’s article, we will be looking at markets and fairs in the towns and villages in south Armagh and south Down.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the exhibition galleries on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11.00 am. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museum@nmandd.org for further information.
