8 cheery photos of Market Drayton's new artisan market as event is hailed a success

Market Drayton's Artisan Market is being run by Castle Artisan Events, which came in after Shropshire Council saw an opportunity for a bigger market in the town.

Saturday's first event took place in and around the town’s iconic Buttercross building in Cheshire Street, from 9am to 3pm, showcasing local and regional food and drink producers, handcrafters, artists and more.

While the artisan market was a first, the town's Indoor Market was also open and busier than usual, giving visitors nearly 40 market stalls to visit on the day.

The fresh market comes after a small monthly artisan market has been held in the town since October 2021.

The event grew out of a ‘walking market’ which launched during the Covid pandemic and Shropshire Council saw the opportunity to expand the event, bringing in the new operator.

Castle Artisan Events is an experienced operator, which already runs a number of successful artisan markets in Staffordshire and Cheshire.

Its owner, Jake Burgess said they were very pleased with the way their Drayton debut had gone, and were looking forward to a long successful relationship with the town.

He said: "It was a really good day for the market and for the shops as well which is fantastic because it is all about bringing people in to support the town and the local community."

He added: "It was really nice, it is our first market in Shropshire and all the shops were really receptive and the people were welcoming, the stall holders said they had a really good day and it was a good start for what is hopefully a very long and successful Market Drayton Artisan Market."

The event will be taking place on the second Saturday of every month.