Melton Mowbray is an ancient market town founded on farming and fine rural
traditions. As a market town, it has been thriving for well over 1,000
years, and indeed, was recorded as having Leicestershire’s only market in
the 1086 Domesday Book.
The ancient ‘Drove’ roads from the north, such
as the A1 to the east and the Fosse Way to the west, made the town
an ideal meeting point for buyers and traders.
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In addition to the markets, the town also has a diverse and interesting
heritage. This includes a number of royal connections, as well as an
association with fox hunting and the expression ‘Painting the Town Red’.
Melton Mowbray’s Cattle and Sheep Markets were originally held in the Town
Centre along Nottingham and Sherrard Streets. Records show 4,800 sheep
penned in one day and 60,000 sheep traded in a year – it’s little wonder
that a purpose built cattle market was opened away from the shops in 1870.
Likewise, it is also difficult to imagine the Stilton Cheese Fairs that took
place near the Butter Cross between 1883 and 1914. Whole cheeses piled high
on straw were sold rapidly to buyers from all over the country.
Melton had four market crosses, which served as trading points in the Town
Centre, namely Butter, Corn, Sage and Sheep. Today, replicas of the Butter &
Corn crosses remain.
