The Stockport Heritage Trust have very kindly produced this local history feature for readers. Stay tuned for more!

By Jill Trumble

The old post office was here until 1836. William Stride, the collector of market tolls, and James Larkum, the gas engineer and inspector of weights and measures, also lived on this site. 

The timber and plaster cottages that they occupied were demolished to build the produce hall, which was opened in 1852. 

The architects were Messrs. Stevens and Park of Manchester and it was constructed by a local builder, Edward Bann. 

The principal use of the hall, widely known as the 'hen market', was the sale of farm produce, excluding fruit and vegetables. Until the 1940s, there was an external balcony which was used for electioneering and public proclamations that would be adorned with flower displays when in use. It was removed after WWII. 

There was also a cast iron balcony in the interior, level with the one outside and reached by an iron staircase. Also inside was a fountain ornamented with lion's head spouts - you can see what remains if you go inside. The iron work was painted green and gold.

A contemporary described how the hall was "supplied with water from an ever flowing iron fountain which throws water a considerable height, running into a large oblique receiver which answers the ordinary purpose of the occupants of the stalls". 

An illustration of the Produce Hall by Mark Newman (Image - Mark Newman / @globalgerbil on Instagram)

The storage rooms in the basement had doors with bars inserted into them for ventilation, leading some to believe that the rooms were cells, but the building was never used as a lock up. 

The following year, in 1853, the corporation appointed a committee to consider the establishment of a public library, but the idea was rejected in favour of the continued use of the Mechanics Institution on Nelson Street. However, twenty years later, interest was piqued when the Young Men's Committee gathered support for its scheme to bring books to the people.

There was no suitable site available, but the produce market needed a new roof and so it was decided to add another storey to the building to accommodate the new library.

A 60ft x 30ft lending library and a reference reading room were created and opened on 20th September 1875; painted in light french grey and chocolate colours, the new library had the capacity for 30,000 volumes.

By 1888, complaints were being made by the staff about the odour of cheese drafting up into the library space and the effect that it had on their health. A report confirmed that the ventilation in all rooms was bad and the smell 'at some times is almost overpowering', but it was only in 1890 that any kind of ventilation was considered. 

The Produce Hall is an icon of Market Place (Image - Alasdair Perry)

In 1913, at the expense of Andrew Carnegie, a new library was built on Wellington Road South and the facility was moved from the market place to the new building.

A newspaper article from 1900 described the produce sold at the hen market; as well as "various items of farm produce, livestock was sold, you could have bought cocks and hens, tame rabbits and even bull-pups, dear to the heart of our operatives".

In 1950, a considerable sum was allocated for the hall to be upgraded to comply with modern standards of hygiene. Old fashioned stalls and benches were taken away and each new stall was provided with two sinks and hot and cold water, new flooring was installed and the lighting was improved. Further refurbishments followed in the ensuing years. 

In 2017, the covered market hall that had been built opposite the Produce Hall in 1861 came under threat when Stockport Council proposed, in line with a similar scheme in Altrincham, to convert this into a food hall, displacing all the market traders in the process.

As a result of vehement objections and campaigning to this radical proposal, the Council were persuaded to grant permission for the conversion of the Produce Hall instead, ensuring that this historic building continues in its role as the town's food hall to this day.

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Those interested in learning more about Stockport's heritage can visit the heritage centre Tuesday 11am – 2pm and Saturday 10.30 – 2pm. The centre is situated inside St. Mary's Parish Church, Market Place, on the left hand side past the cafe. 

The heritage trust also opens the former courthouse and dungeon to the public on the second Saturday of every month, from 10.30am until 3.30pm, or when the last visitor leaves.

The trust's website can be found HERE

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