History

The Covered Market was started in response to a general wish to clear ‘untidy, mess and unsavoury stalls’ from the main streets of central Oxford.

John Gwynn, the architect of Magdalen Bridge, drew up the plans and designed the High Street front with its four entrances. In 1772 the newly-formed Market committee, half of whose members came from the town and half from the university, accepted an estimate of nine hundred and sixteen pounds ten shillings, for the building of twenty butchers’ shops.

Twenty more soon followed, and after 1773 meat was only allowed to be sold inside the market. From this nucleus the market grew, with stalls for garden produce, pig meat, dairy products and fish.

Today

Today the covered market is still home to numerous traders, around half of which are food retailers. Most of the shops now are quite a bit larger than the original stall sizes, and so the number of businesses in the covered market is smaller than in the past. It is a bustling area, especially on Saturdays.

The Covered Market may be accessed via the four enterances on the High Street, via Golden Cross (from Cornmarket), and from three enterances on Market Street. The Oxford Openguide features a partial list of the shops.