If you had walked into Hexham in 1885, the Market Place would have been one of the liveliest places in town. Farmers arrived from the surrounding countryside with things they had grown, raised, or made, hoping to sell them to townspeople who needed food for their families.
For a family like the Whitakers, a trip to Hexham could mean bringing eggs, butter, vegetables, livestock, or other farm goods to market. What they sold could help pay for the things they could not produce on the farm.
But the Market Place wasn’t only about buying and selling. It was where people met neighbors, exchanged news, heard the latest gossip, and watched the comings and goings of the town. Horses and carts moved through the square, merchants called out to customers, and the smells of food, animals, and nearby shops filled the air.
And tucked within this busy marketplace was the Shambles, a covered market built in 1766. While the Market Place was the larger open square, the Shambles gave traders a sheltered place to work when Northumberland’s weather turned wet.
For Will and the other Whitaker children, Hexham’s Market Place would have been a very different world from their quiet farm—a place filled with people, sounds, smells, food, animals, and things to discover around every corner.
In 1885, the Market Place wasn’t just somewhere you went to shop. It was where Hexham came alive.
Continue the adventure with the Broken Sanctuary novel, the first journey into the world of Peckles-Wood Shire. Then discover collectibles and keepsakes inspired by the Whitaker family’s adventure.
Own a Piece of 1885 → | Peckles-Wood Shire Map →
The Illustrator’s Vision—The maps and illustrations of Peckles-Wood Shire are inspired by the real landscapes, places, and traditions of Victorian Northumberland. Created for The Chronicles of Peckles-Wood Shire, they blend historical research with imagination to bring the world of Broken Sanctuary to life and invite young explorers to step into the Whitaker family’s adventure of 1885.
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