As the lovely Coxwold Market goes from strength to strength, we talk to the manager Katie Turner to find out exactly what went into setting up such a strong community affair.
With more than 35 varied stalls, The Coxwold Village Market is a monthly market which was founded on a passion for the community, supporting independent businesses and the provenance of produce.
Katie Turner is one of those who helped make it happen.
'My partner had just taken over his family business of Thornton's Butchers in Easingwold,' says manager Katie. 'We got asked to do a farmer's market so I did it and absolutely loved it. It was a tiny one in Ampleforth, but I realised it was something I really enjoyed so I searched around looking for other markets to do.
'I moved it to Coxwold as we live in the village, it's got such a bright community and a beautiful village hall with a strong committee behind it. It's very pretty and has such a quintessential British feel to it.'
Local lad and superstar chef Tommy Banks lives just up the road so was on hand to open it. 'Luckily Tommy Banks is one of our good friends so I pulled in a big favour and he came down and opened it,' smiles Katie. 'It was fantastic for people to see a big name behind it.'
Clearly, they are doing something right with people flooding through the doors. 'We can have 450 people through the door so it's going pretty well,' says Katie.
One thing that is really important to Katie in the running of the market is not to have duplicates in the stalls. 'The stallholders are giving up their weekends and making a living, so I like to give them a good shot,' she says.
But provenance and being local is paramount to the market too...
'All the stallholders are local people, the produce comes from the local area and they are artisans and independent providers. 'It's showcasing the best our area has to offer.'
Katie has also made sure that you can buy everything you need at the market to make a full meal, without having to go elsewhere for the bits you couldn't find. Once you've got your food shop, inside you'll find there are lots of craft stalls too.
Community is clearly at the heart of it and Katie's proud to live in a village that really supports each other. 'We're a village of about 400 people but if you put something on in the hall, you'll be sure to get around 150 people which is amazing for a small village,' she beams. 'We really take care of each other.'
This idea of everyone looking out for each other was another aspect that Katie wanted to keep in mind. With it only being a small village and Thirsk being the nearest town, there are a lot of older people in the village that struggle to get around. 'It's great having this for them and we have a couple called Simon and Helen Rheinberg who used to run the pub a few years ago who run a café out of the kitchen at the hall. They do avocado on toast with sun blushed tomatoes and feta or really nice cakes,' says Katie. 'A lot of people come on their own but then you see them gather in there for coffee.'
The market is open 10am-1pm at Coxwold Village Hall, Coxwold, YO61 4BB.
