Chipping Barnet has had a market as part of the town since the 1100’s and possibly even before that. The word Chipping means market town and on 23 August 1199  King John issued a Charter for a Market at Barnet to the Lord of the Manor, the Abbot of St. Albans, John de Cella. This charter is one of the oldest recorded for a market.

On 6 February 1588 a new charter for Barnet Market was issued by Queen Elizabeth I to the then Lord of the Manor, Charles Butler, which also allowed the holding of the very popular Barnet Horse Fair. The market has had several locations in and around High Barnet, including a market once being established around the St John the Baptist church which itself sits on the junction of Wood street and Barnet high street.

Barnet was the meat supplier to London at one point, with several abatoirs/butchers in the high street. Cattle were driven up to Barnet from as far afield as Wales and were regulrly penned on Hadley Common and so a cattle market naturally sat just off St Albans.

It was a member of the Bone family who asked permission to set up a veg stall in the corner. Permission was given and the stall proved so popular it soom expanded into a fruit and veg stall. The Bone family became synonomous with Barnet Market and they have traded there ever since.

The cattle market eventually became less and less popular with London establishing its own meat markets and the cattle market in Barnet was squeezed out. So, Barnet market expanded into the vacated space beneath the corrugated cattle sheds. The market was especially popular throughout the following decades, in particular the 1970’s,80’s and 90’s. However, the land was eventually sold off and Barnet market once again had to move, this time relocating to the area around the bandstand that sat behind the Spires shopping centre.

Times were changing and with the advent of £1 shops, many stalls could not compete, so the market slowly evolved once more, this time to become a high quality food market, with specialist traders such as cheesemakers, fishmongers, butchers, bakers and other artisan stalls joining the ranks of traders there and they were augmented by non food stalls such as the garden plant stall that provides a colourful splash guarenteed to brighten up anyones day.

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