Building record 1160/0/247 - The Fishmarket, Sheep Street

Northampton Fish market was probably built by 1938 although it is not present on the 1938 Ordnance Survey map. The fish market is a single storey, red brick building which is a reverse L shape in plan. It has ribbon style crittal windows that run around the extent of the building. There appear to be uPVC replacements. The interior is a single open-plan space with an exposed metal-trussed roof structure. There is a clock suspended from a roof beam, which may be original. Internal partition walls have been inserted to accommodate an art gallery. Now demolished

{1} The Fish and Meat Market was built in 1938 as a response to increasing concerns regarding the safety of selling fish and meat in the main, open market. Original plans dated December 1938 show the L-shaped building with 28 butchers stalls arranged along most of the intermal walls. Along the centre of the building were 22 fish stalls, mostly in groups of two. At the north-western end of the building was a buffet counter. Toilets and cloakroom facilities were also rpovided.
In the late 1970s there were plans to modernise the Fishmarket by using it more often and have a wider range of stalls. In 1988 the market was still a thriving shopping area with a stongly traditional feel.
In 1991 there were plan to re-invent the Fishmarket but they never came to fruition. By 1997 the Fishmarket was in serious need of renovation. Essential works were carried out but traders still felt that business was declining due to the poor state of the building. The Fishmarket continued its decline and closed in 2006; thereafter it was used as an art gallery.
Below the Fishmarket is an air raid shelter. It was incorporated into the planning and construction of the building. It consited of a wide, low, rectangular central room c.15.4m by 12.2m, originally accessible by three flights of concrete stairs to the west and east. Two smaller rooms, labelled as Gas Locks on the original plan, are present to the east, providing access to stairs. More description.
The former Fishmarket is an Art Deco style, single storey, brick built, L-shaped structure presenting main elevations to Bradshaw Street, Sheep Street and Silver Street with entrances on the street junctions. Detailed external and interal description.

{2} The air-raid shelter could also be a cold store, either in it's original form or converted to shelter use.

{3} Letter from local resident who remembers using the air raid shelter during the war. "It was equipped with benches and bunks and we stayed there until the all clear was sounded. The entrance can still be seen in the brickwork and pavement in what was then Silver Street at the back of the Fishmarket."

{4} Photos taken during demolition process.

{7} The Fish Market was probably built in the late 1930's but does not appear to be present on the 1938 Ordnance Survey (OS) map. There is a building on the site on the 1938 OS map, but it has a very different footprint, and is located to the north of the site, rather than the south, as the present building is.

The Fish Market is a single-storey, red brick building, which is a reverse L-shape on plan. It has ribbon-window style crittal windows which run around the extent of the building, each of which has a canopy. There appear to have been uPVC replacements inserted. There are stone or concrete string courses both above and below the windows, the curved ends of which appear to have been decorated with vertically laid terracotta tiles. The north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west corners of the building are curved, with tiled, full-height entrance ways. The interior is a single open-plan space, with an exposed metal-trussed roof structure. The shallow-pitch roof rises over the market hall with a clerestory around, and roof lights running the full length of the building. There is a clock suspended from a roof beam, which may be original. Internal partition walls have been inserted to accommodate an art gallery which currently utilises the space.

The Fish Market in Northampton is a distinctive building, the most notable feature being the use of tiles around the entrances and the curving of the walls at strategic points. However the building is modest in design and does not hold the special architectural or historical interest.

<1> Bassir A.; Upson-Smith T.; Holmes M.; Walker C., 2012, Building Recording of the Former Fishmarket and 5 & 7 Sheep Street, Northampton, and Archaeological Evaluation of Land at the Northampton Bus Interchange, (checked) (Report). SNN108436.

<2> Armishaw, A., 2012, Oral Report to SMR, (checked) (Oral Report). SNN108557.

<3> 2012, ViewPoint, (checked) (Newspaper cuttings). SNN108618.

<4> Cadman G., 2012, The Fishmarket, Northampton, (checked) (Photographic prints (COL)). SNN108554.

<5> Upson-Smith T., 2013, Archaeological Investigation And Recording at The Former Fishmarket and 5-7 Sheep Street, Northampton, January to April 2013, p.10+20-25 (checked) (Report). SNN109904.

<6> Bassir A., 2016, The Fishmarket and Greyfriars Bus Station, Northampton, p. 205-219 (Article). SNN110574.

<7> English Heritage, Designation Advice Report, Non-designation case, Designation Adviser, October 2011 (Report). SNN113190.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 7:18PM