The old cobbled market in Cambridge city center has to be one of the smallest city markets in the country and one of the oldest dating back to the Middle Ages. Today the market operates 7 days a week and has stalls featuring local artists, watch repair, books, records, and lots of food stalls, with food from all over the world on offer, no wonder I’m always hungry when I spend time in the market.
While doing research for this blog, I found out there was a jail on the site and people would meet in the market to watch justice being administered with public whippings, stocks, and beheadings. The area wasn’t just used for justice it was also important for trade, the ships and barges brought fish, wine, salt, and luxuries to the docks all along the river and then to the market.
Don’t let the size of this market fool you, it’s never quiet and on a summer’s day it’s very welcoming for street photographers like myself. Cambridge market has amazing light and shadows mix this with the visitors and characters of this city and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, I think it’s safe to say I spend a lot of time shooting in and around the market square.
In the centre of the market is an old fountain which hasn’t operated since the 1960s, the fountain was built in the 1600s and was used to bring fresh drinking water to the townspeople. Visitors to the market still use this area as a meeting point to catch up with friends or to sit around the old fountain while having some food from the many food stalls, lucky enough there are no beheadings in the market today, but I think Cambridge could bring the stocks back, the kids would love it.
Cambridge council have been talking about refurbishing the market and maybe this would be a good thing as there are areas of the market that could do with being updated, but I worry about them changing so much that it would end up losing its appeal, worse than that it could end up losing its soul.
It’s around the centre of the market where I spend the majority of my time, most of this time is spent sitting on the ground pointing my camera upwards capturing the people as they walk around or past me giving me weird looks, I would say most think I’m crazy and yes they’d be right.
Over the next few blogs, I thought it would be good to share with you some of my personal favourite photos that I’ve taken in the market over the past 5 years, some that I’ve never posted online before. The market is an area of Cambridge that I’ll never get bored of shooting it always has something to offer.
The next time you visit Cambridge make sure you spend some time in the market and don't forget to try some of the food on offer.
