The stone built 16th Century Market House, standing proudly in the centre of the town is one of the most recognisable buildings in Ross-on-Wye. It is one of the oldest buildings in the centre of Ross and a focal point of the riverside town. The Market House was built between 1650 and 1654 replacing the older, probably wooden, Booth Hall.
Many of you will have noticed the Market House shrouded in scaffolding for much of last year whilst major restoration work took place. We spoke with Carla Boyles, of Ross Town Council to find out more.
What were the main aspects of work that needed to be carried out as part of the restoration project?
Over the years the Market House has suffered extensive stone erosion and urgently required specialist conservation. The stone window surrounds were so badly eroded that there was a serious risk of the glass falling out and the windows being boarded up. The work was not only for conservation and restoration repairs to the fabric of the building, there are a number of legacy projects, including new interpretation boards to tell the story of the Market House and its wider historical context.
Works addressed the primary areas of concern including much needed repairs to the stone window surrounds to the west, north and east elevations and sill repairs to the south windows, low level stone repairs along the south elevation, repairs to the roof, lead gutters and ridges, plus other minor repairs and decorations.
Works included: stone repairs, window repairs, painting, timber repairs, lighting, repointing and mortar repairs, clock tower repairs, cleaning and maintenance and a new lightning conductor.
Were there any particular highlights of the restoration project?
The level of detail and craftsmanship of the work carried out.
The Market House is such a beautiful, iconic building in Ross-on- Wye; do have a favourite feature of the building?
The balcony window is my favourite feature, but another interesting feature if you go inside upstairs is the wooden pillars in the centre of the room have been carved and one has been placed facing the opposite direction to the others!
What can visitors to the newly restored Market House expect?
We now have new interpretation boards detailing the history of the Market House, the Civil War, the birthplace of Tourism, Hedgehogs and their links to Ross and notable benefactors of Ross. There are also new Tourism Information Points at the top of the stairs in the Market House (Made in Ross are also upstairs in the Market House https://www.madeinross.co.uk/ – well worth a visit) and as well as leaflets about things to do in the local area, there are also children’s activity booklets, which include spaces to rub the rubbing disks that are on each of the interpretation panels as a keepsake of their visit to Ross. There is also a new Museum Without Walls exhibit showing the fire engine that used to be stored under the Market House https://museumwithoutwalls.uk/fire-engine/
Are there any events or regular markets held at the Market House that residents and visitors to Ross can look forward to over the Spring and Summer months this year?
Yes, there are regular markets every Thursday and Saturday (which we managed to keep going throughout the work despite the reduced space and the disruption – thank you to the traders and community for supporting the market during this time) as well as many events planned for this year, including Pancake Races on the 2nd March, Easter break activities – Monday 17th to Sunday 20th April, Easter artisan market – Saturday 19th April, VE Day 80 including Beacon lighting– Thursday 8th May, Mindfulness activities for Mental Health awareness week – Monday 12th to Sunday 18th May, Bands in the Park from May and Proms in the Park – Sunday 20th July. Ophelia, our Tourism & Events Officer will be able to give more details about these events on tourism@rosstc-herefordshire.gov.uk
Can you tell us an interesting historical fact about the market house?
A fire engine used to be stored under the Market House! (see above). This can be seen through the Museum without Walls experience https://museumwithoutwalls.uk/fire-engine/
Anything else you would like to tell us about the project?
The project as a whole went really smoothly, which was a result of the successful collaboration between the Town Council (staff and councillors), Historic England, Hawkes Edwards (the architects) Treasure and Son (the contractors) as well as the funders, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Wolfson Foundation, The Pilgrim Trust and also the community for their support and involvement, particularly with creating the artwork boards that covered the hoardings while the work was taking place.
Ross Market house is open 10am to 4pm 7 days a week.
