Who we are
A market run by its makers
Ledbury Country Market is a true co-operative — owned by its members, staffed by volunteers, and stocked entirely by people who live and make within 15 miles of the town.
Our story
Eighty years of Friday mornings
Our roots reach back to the Women’s Institute, whose markets gave country producers a fair way to sell what they made at home. Ledbury’s first WI Market opened in 1944, in the middle of wartime rationing — and it has been filling tables with local food ever since.
The markets became independent of the WI in 1995 and took the Country Markets name in 2004, but the idea hasn’t changed in eighty years: local people selling homemade, homegrown and handmade produce to their own community, co-operatively and without fuss.
Today you’ll find us in the Burgage Hall every Friday morning — the same warm welcome, the same sparkling-fresh tables, and the same small-town economics: what you spend here stays within 15 miles of where you’re standing.
How we got here
From the WI to the Burgage Hall
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1915
The Women’s Institute arrives in Britain, and with it the tradition of co-operative country markets
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1944
Ledbury’s first WI Market opens, giving local producers a fair route to market in wartime
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1995
The markets become independent of the WI
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2004
We take the Country Markets name, alongside markets right across the country
The co-operative, plainly
How a market with no shopkeeper works
Run by members
every producer is a co-owner of the market, with a real say in how it’s run
Staffed by volunteers
the people serving you on a Friday are members giving their morning
Like with like
goods are sold together by type, so small producers stand equal with large ones
Paid fairly
members receive the sale price of their goods each month, less a small commission for running costs and insurance
Worth being clear about
What we are — and what we’re not
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We’re not a supermarket — quantities are small, seasonal, and often gone by mid-morning
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We’re not a food hall with rented pitches — nobody here pays for a stall or shouts for your attention
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We’re not a middleman — the person who made your marmalade is the person paid for your marmalade
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We’re not exclusive — anyone over 16 with something well made can join us
“Such a wonderful place. Fresh food, cakes, pies, vegetables. Can’t fault it. Love it.” — Angela, Ledbury
Fridays, 8.45am – 12.30pm The Burgage Hall, Ledbury