ABSTRACT
In September 1851 the Mayor of Stockport laid the foundation stone for a new market hall in the town. The local newspaper described the event in considerable detail, claiming that ‘the erection of a handsome Market Hall was looked upon as so honourable to the corporate Spirit of Stockport, that even the Church Bells … became invested … with all the power of speech’. 1 The ceremony included a civic procession followed by speeches praising this new building. The Mayor declared that Stockport had now commenced the race of improvement and he hoped soon for a new town hall. The market hall itself was quite a modest building and was never very successful (Figure 8.1).
