Every Thursday you can find a small market on Stoneham Street, with stallholders selling a great range of items. You can get your essentials here as well as a few tasty extras. This market has been going since 1256 and is currently proving to be more valuable than ever.
With the Government’s rules around only essential travel for things like a trip to the supermarket, many people are trying to do their shopping as close to home as possible. The threat of COVID-19 is very present and so for many, even going for limited supermarket shops is terrifying. However, that isn’t necessary at the moment thanks to our Thursday market.
If you go along to the market this Thursday you will be able to buy fresh meat, fruit and vegetables, cheese, bread, pastries and Indian food. You could easily buy enough items to stock up without stockpiling. Not only that, but some stallholders are even doing home deliveries as they know many people can’t get out of their homes at the moment.
All of the stallholders are well aware of the guidelines around social distancing and are asking their customers to ensure they respect these to keep everyone safe. Where individuals do not adhere to the guidelines, then they will not be served.
So if you are looking at your cupboards and worrying they’re a little bit bare, don’t fret. Head down to the market on Thursday morning to get what you need.
Here is a summary of who is doing what at Coggeshall’s market this Thursday.
Jamie’s Fruit and Veg: will be there as normal from around 6/7am until 12/1pm. He will also be doing deliveries so if you can’t get to the market, give him a call and he should be able to deliver in the afternoon: 07958 925542
Mena’s Indian Banquet: has a range of tasty items as usual and her menu is in the photos for this post. She will also be doing deliveries this Thursday – call her by 8pm the day before on 07743623373
The Cheese Wheeler: Martin has a huge range of cheeses and can take do contactless card payments. Unfortunately he can’t do deliveries due to the size of his van but he is now doing contactless payment.
Stone Meats: Paul will also be at the market on Thursday but can’t do deliveries as he doesn’t have the set up to allow him to do this. He will have his usual wide selection of meats but no lamb or eggs this week as he sources only local high quality items and he can’t get hold of both of these at the moment.
McCarthy’s: will be selling a variety of breads, pastries, cakes and olives. The breads do really well in the freezer if you need to stock up for a while!
Some of the stallholders have been incredibly busy but others who can’t offer deliveries may be struggling a bit more. While going out shouldn’t be encouraged, where it is necessary and safe, you should feel able to do so and this will, in turn, help our stallholders.
It is important to look after this market given its history and value to Coggeshall. Hopefully, this has also shown people who didn’t use it much before just how lucky we are to have it and they will now continue using it even when this pandemic has passed.
