| This Building is one
of the first to be seen as a traveller comes into Market Harborough on
the Leicester Road. It is very striking, with its bricked in arches and
tall profile. It was built in 1788 by the Earl of Harborough as a Market
Hall. The ground floor, where the shops are now, had grilled arches and
was reserved for butchers whose shambles had been cleared from the site
before the building was begun. The first floor was for the use of cloth
factors who came to the market to buy cloth woven by the people of the
town in their own homes. The west front has a pediment containing the
Earl of Harborough's arms carved in white stone. To the left of the
building is the beginning of Church Street with its quaint shops and
public houses among them the King's Head featured elsewhere. To the
right is shown the row of shops beyond and includes the Red Cow. |
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