Greytown’s historic ties to Victorian England are being celebrated on Saturday 17 October 2020 when all the stallkeepers dress in Victorian costumes to commemorate the London roots of their local craft market.
The Greytown Stallkeepers Society holds regular weekly markets in the St John Hall, at 73 Main Street, Greytown. Market dates 2020.
Their name stems from an organisation called the Bethnal Green Costermonger’s and Stallkeepers Society which set up in 1888 to defend market traders from persecution by a group of London officials.
The stall keepers won the battle and went on to develop their own culture where respected elders could be elected as pearly kings and queens to keep the peace in their notoriously competitive community.
More than a century on, the Greytown Stallkeepers Society Market is a group of friendly creative stallholders focused on offering a diverse range of quality handcrafted products.
There are locally made soy candles, a range of distinctive jewellery, custom made lampshades, recycled 100 year old timber and iron sculptures, beautiful bric-a-brac, gorgeous handmade children’s clothes and toys, handcrafted felt artwork, and retro clothes.
“We like to think Greytown shopkeepers from more than a century ago would appreciate our links to their forebears in Victorian London.” Says Lisa Harman, the market organiser from Carterton. “The name of our market is distinctive and provides a thread to the rich history of stallkeepers selling quality goods in a popular public market.”
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