No 92 -  The Hide Market, Stoke

"This old building in Stoke is part of the Hanley and Stoke Hide Markets and one of the very few remaining examples of early urban development that has managed to survive.
It was built as a covered market in 1835 on a site overlooking the original Stoke town hall, and extends back to Epworth Street, formerly Cross Street, and earlier still, Chapel Street. 

The front is built mainly from brick with stone dressings, and the central bay is surmounted by a pediment and flanked by arched entrances with iron grilles; the flights of stone steps leading up to them have now been partly removed. The cellars were used as a lock-up and somewhere to keep the fire engine, while the main hall, which is very large and amazingly cool, was used for the market.

The history of markets in Stoke is quite interesting. It begins in the latter part of the 18th century when a market was held in the original town hall, erected in 1794. Built by subscription and administered by trustees, it was a typical building of the period, with an arcaded market below and a meeting room above. 

By 1818 there was a Saturday market, but in 1834 this was overshadowed by the market at Hanley, so, in 1835, a new market hall was built in Stoke. Business continued at these new premises until 1845 when the market was formally established by Act of Parliament and transferred to the new Town Hall in Glebe Street, where it was held on the ground floor of the central block, with a smithfield at the rear. 

In 1883, the market moved again, this time to its present buildings in Church Street. The 1835 market hall, which fortunately still stands, was being used as a shambles by 1859, and about 1872 a hide and skin market was introduced."

Neville Malkin 22nd October 1975