Market House News

Minchinhampton Market House News – It yours. Use it. Enjoy it

The Undercroft Restoration

You may have seen the work going on in the Market House undercroft.  We are restoring the undercroft to improve the accessibility and make the space more useable for the community.  This involves re-seating the paving stones, repairing some of the drainage and improving the electrics and lighting. 

We have just finished the archaeological work and please visit our website for details of the project and updates (https://minchinhamptonmarkethouse.co.uk/undercroft-project/).  Please follow us at our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MinchMarketHouse/). 

When you visit the undercroft, you will see the remains of the original Tudor houses that were demolished to build the Market House in 1698.  Underneath the stones there are cellars, filled in with Victorian rubble.  The post war building of the toilets has thrown up a more modern archaeological find –  a tin drinks can thrown away by a builder and to be left in place as part of a more modern part of the Market House’s archaeological history!  We’ll post more news about the various finds soon.

You will see a pause in the work now.  The paving stones are away to be restored and new ones are being cut from matching traditional stone.  These new paving stones are to replace some that were previously broken over the decades and others to remove previous sub standard repairs.

We’ll keep everyone informed with regular updates and we are currently on time to complete the work in late November/early December.

Help – Volunteers Needed

The Market House is managed on behalf of our community by a fabulous bunch of volunteers!  After many years of valuable service, we have some of the team standing down in the near future and would really like some new help with the roles of Secretary, Treasurer and someone to lead our essential Fund Raising work.  No prior knowledge is necessary, just a willingness to spend a bit of your time helping to run our super Market House.

Donations Please

Our vision is to keep the Market House available to the local people for life in the 21st Century.  To do this the Market House is in constant need of repair, maintenance and restoration.  We have the cornice to repair, and we want to restore the brown bars around the undercroft.  The upstairs hall is in need of redecoration.  This is just the start of a long ‘to do’ list. 

Donations and fund raising are the life blood to keep the Market House at the centre of Minchinhampton. We are grateful for all donations of any size. Donating is easy and quick. Details on how to donate, including online can be found at https://minchinhamptonmarkethouse.co.uk/funding-appeal/