Visit St Albans Markets
Open-air markets are the hub of most any city or town in the developing world. The reasons are far more than commercial; this is where people connect with the substance of their lives through the experiences of other people—real, physical connexions.
Getting here
Our address
St Peter’s Street, St Albans AL1 3ED
Public transport
Bus
230, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305, 357, 361, 601 The Alban Way, 602, 653 Tigermoth, S4, S5, and S6.
Railway
The nearest stations are St Albans Abbey and St Albans City.
When to come to the markets
The Charter Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays between and . The Farmers Market takes place on the second Sunday of each month between and .
To never miss one of our markets (including antiques and vegan) download the following calendar to your computer or smart device:
What to buy
We host 138 traders over our three markets.
The Charter Market is a general market with produce, gifts, and homeware for sale as well as a selection of international street food. You can also find watch and phone repairs.
The farmers market focuses on local food and drink, sustainable arts and crafts, and much more.
St Albans Virtual Market
Whether you have a craving for international street food, a picture that isn’t going to frame itself, or a sudden thirst for small-batch–artisanal-gin; we know that some of you are too impatient to wait for the next market day. Whilst many of our traders are old-school market grafters up for a haggle, down for a deal, and incapable of living indoors; more than a few will cater to your needs online.
So if you’re agoraphobic (agora being Greek for a market) or can’t face a busy shambles (shambles being the word for the area of market where butchery takes place), but you still want quality at cheap prices (cheap being old English for a market), then choose one of the following categories to get links to a selection of our Charter and Farmers market traders:
- Griffiths Brothers—
We’re a family run distillery in the Buckinghamshire village of Penn Street, deep in the Chiltern Hills
- Watergull Orchards—
a Family Owned and Run Business For Over 20 years, Producing Single Variety Apple Juices, Mixed Flavour Juices, Pear Juice and Cider. All From Tree To Bottle Within Cambridgeshire.
- GiftiCuffs—
officially licensed band merchandise range
- New Truth—
sustainable street wear
- A.C. Picture Framing
- Alban Blinds
- Anthony Lewis Photography & Framing Service
- Edgy Threads—
Contemporary crochet using recycled t-shirt fabric
- Flower Flowers
- Hannah Sessions
- Kenny Deane Limited Edition Vinyl Art
- My Rustic Home
- Rosa Fabulosa—
Rosa Fabulosa is the inspired indulgent home scent brand. We take the best blends from batches of botanicals and pure essential oils paired with quality ingredients
- RoughStuff Oak—
Probably the best chopping boards in the world …. Designed by RoughStuff and made by prisoners for over 10 years.
- So Cosy—
So Cosy design and produce luxury handcrafted homeware, fashion accessories, and even charming baby alpaca gifts too, all from our range of pure, natural and sustainable fibres
- Comida Brasil—the taste of Brazil
- Crêpes Fantastique—
original Brittany crêpes and gallettes made fresh for you
- Daise’s Kitchen—
a mix of flavour and passion
- Funky Elephant—
award winning Caribbean fusion
- Noviellos—
ice cream at its best
- Peddling Pizza—
Peddling Pizza serve award winning Neapolitan style pizzas, made with passion from ‘Buzz’ our custom Italian 3 wheeled Piaggio Ape van
- Pyala Kebab Roll—Pakistani street food
- Rolling Burritos—
For the love of a good Burrito, we started Rolling Delicious Burritos
- The Weeping Chef—
Absolutely stunning food from a man who clearly loves his food. The pork belly is true delicious, and the chicken is perfectly cooked. I can't wait to try the brisket next time I see him
- Brockleby’s—pies handmade in Melton Mowbray
- Brown Bread—
Steve has brought together bread, cakes and patisseries from the best bakers to bring to you at your local market.
- Chilli Gold—
The gold standard for chilli products
- Chrissy’s Cupcakes
- Coffee Gems—artisan roasters
- Earthworks—
the natural place to grow
- Eat Whole Foods—sunshine inside
- Forever Fudge—
All our Fudge is handmade using the highest quality ingredients and in most cases vegetarian friendly and gluten free except where we have used biscuits to get an authentic taste.
- Foxholes—farm shop and butchery
- A Good Egg—purveyors of the finest scotch eggs
- Lime Tree Pantry Foods—
the home of delicious Award Winning shortcrust pastry pies and delicious cakes. Our famous shortcrust pastry recipe has been passed down through generations and it truly does give our range of savoury and sweet pies that ‘just like grandma used to make’ taste
- Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese—
We, Simon and Tim Jones, at Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese, are absolutely committed to producing the very best cheese that we possibly can (with a little help from our 230 Holstein Fresian Cows!) using only our own unpasteurised milk and traditional methods.
- Meatsmiths—
The Smiths’ are a small family business who are passionate about producing and procuring the very best in pork based products
- Meah’s Sauces—curry sauces to cook at home
- Meli Group—
Turkish and Greek delights!
- Melinda’s Strudel—
I’m Melinda, the strudel girl—passionate about making delicious artisan pastries. Inspired by my mother’s recipes and the traditions of my homeland Hungary, I proudly present my own range of handmade products
- Redbournbury Watermill and Bakery
- totally cultured—
creators of modern british ferments
- Yvette’s Chocolates
Learn the history
The market was established in circa 860 by Wulsin, the sixth abbot of St Albans.
Following the dissolution of the monasteries, the right to hold the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays were sold to the town in 1553 via letters patent by Edward VI which also incorporated St Albans as a borough.
Learn more about the history of St Albans Market on Wikipedia.
The Market circa 1880Courtesy of St Albans Museums
The market in 1938The Market in 1938, courtesy of St Albans Museums
Market Day from Clock TowerSt. Albans Market Day from Clock Tower by Betsy has been placed in the The Public Domain. Taken Saturday, 17th September 1966.
The Charter Market in 2005The Market in 2005, courtesy of St Albans Museums
Our market today
The following sketches of our market were made in 2022 and are reproduced here with the kind permission of local artist Rydal Hanbury. Follow Rydal on Instagram to keep up with her latest work.
Support our markets
If you love St Albans Charter Markets, help them to grow by leaving reviews and sharing photos on:
- Google’s listing for our Charter Market
- TripAdvisor’s listing for our Charter Market.
- Yelp’s listing for our Charter Market.
Keep the love coming for St Albans Farmers Market:
- Google’s listing for our Farmers Market
- TripAdvisor’s listing for our Farmers Market.
- Yelp’s listing for our Farmers Market.
Further information is also available on the Enjoy St Albans market page.
Visit the St Albans Antiques Market Toggle accordion
The St Albans Antiques Market is held in the same place as the Charter and Farmers Markets on the third Sunday of each month (except November). For more information please visit St Albans Antiques Market’s website.
Visit the Vegan Market Toggle accordion
The St Albans Vegan Market is held in the same place as the Charter and Farmers markets.
The dates for are:
For more information please visit St Albans Vegan Market’s website.
Visit Harpenden Farmers’ Market Toggle accordion
Information about visiting Harpenden Farmers’ Market can be found on Harpenden Town Council’s markets webpage.
Visit Redbourn Village Market Toggle accordion
Information about visiting Redbourn Village Market can be found on Redbourn Village Market’s webpage.