The Old Market Hall

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The Square, Town Centre, Shrewsbury, SY1 1LH T: 01743 281 271

The Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury

The Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury

Built in 1596, the property is now in the ownership of, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. In 2004 the building underwent a £1.7 million restoration, having been previously restored in 1904. The OMH is a Grade 1 Listed building.

The hall had two storeys: the large upper room was originally used by the Shrewsbury drapers or dealers in cloth to sell Welsh wool and the lower floor was used by farmers to sell their corn. The Old Market Hall was one of the earliest forms of prefabricated buildings; it was erected in less than four months.

It bears the Royal Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth I, with the date of 1596, and the supporters are the English Lion and the Welsh dragon. On the North side of the Old Market Hall there is a statue of the Duke of York; it is the only one in the whole country. It is thought the OMH was designed by Walter Haycock.