Market Hall, Victorian museum building in Monmouth, Wales
Market Hall is a Grade II listed building in Monmouth featuring a crescent-shaped frontage in Greek Doric style topped with an Ionic cupola, built from Bath Stone. Beneath it lie The Shambles, 24 original slaughterhouse arches made of Old Red Sandstone that open directly onto the River Monnow.
The building opened in 1840 as an innovative solution to reduce traffic on Church Street, designed by architect George Vaughan Maddox. A severe fire in 1963 destroyed much of its central portion, and the original structure was not entirely restored.
The building served for generations as a meeting point where buyers and sellers from across the region gathered to trade goods and share news. This market function remains central to how locals perceive and use the space.
The building is easy to access and offers good views of the architecture both inside and out, especially if you allow time to explore the lower Shambles level. Visiting at different times of day lets you see how the light and river activity change throughout the day.
The Shambles beneath the building are remnants of a medieval market structure where butchers sold goods from open arches directly beside the river, using the water as a natural drainage system. This layout reveals how markets and urban life functioned in earlier times.
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