Haymarket
Haymarket The Haymarket was
described by the historian John Kirkpatrick “as
being the place where the Carts and Waggons which bring
Hay to the City for sale do stand, expecting
buyers”. It is now many years since hay was last
sold here, the name now conjuring up, for older citizens
at least, happy memories of the picture house of that
name. First opened in 1911, it was twice enlarged - in
1921 and 1929. After the war, however, with the advent of
television and other distractions, attendances dwindled,
leading to its closure and finally to its demolition in
1959.Perhaps the greatest change here in recent times took place in 1972 when the garden and lawn surrounding Sir Thomas Browne’s statue were replaced by a paved concourse with seats and a “water feature”. The pleached lime trees that had formed an effective screen to a nineteenth-century warehouse had earlier been cut down, other trees being planted instead on the north side flanking St Peter Mancroft churchyard. One vivid memory is recalled by this photograph. On 26th June 1937, some cattle on their way from the old cattle market stampeded from Orford Hill. Their headlong career ended within the protective chains of the garden, but a further hour elapsed before they could be persuaded to enter the float that had been brought round for them to resume their journey. Text and photographs Copyright © G.A.F.Plunkett 2001 |