Barnsley Market's 775th anniversary celebrated with art and exhibition

These women were caught on camera on a cold day at Barnsley Market back in the 1980s

Celebrations are under way to mark the 775th anniversary of one of the oldest markets in the country.

Barnsley Market dates back to 1249, when a royal charter was bestowed on the town by King Henry III.

Anniversary events include a live artwork and exhibition to celebrate its "rich history", Barnsley Council said.

Janine Warner, who runs a stall at the market, said it had always been a special place and as a young person it had seemed "a bit like Disneyland".

Janine Warner said as a young person the market had been "a great sensory experience"

Ms Warner, who runs her family's antique and second-hand jewellery stall at the market, said she had strong memories as a child of the three-day market, which was "really busy, really bustling".

"You'd come in and there were people shouting across. There was banter, there were colours, there were smells," she said.

"There were smells from the Friday night which were not great, but it was a sensory experience.

"It was exciting, I could walk around, run around. It was safe and everybody knew everybody. It was like family."

Queen Elizabeth II visited Barnsley Market in 1975

As part of the celebrations, marking the market's anniversary, artist James Brunt has been asked to create an artwork with contributions from stallholders.

The market bell, traditionally pealed to mark the start and end of trading, would also be rung ceremonially, the council said.

Meanwhile, dairy farmer James Hill, whose grandparents used to deliver milk to the market over 80 years ago, said he planned to bring a tractor and a fake cow to the celebrations.

The events marked a "momentous milestone" in the town's history, a council spokesperson said, adding that the market had an "enduring significance in the community".

Trader Charlie Smark (left), 23, runs Dolly's Desserts stall with the help of her mum, Janine

Charlie Smark, 23, is just the latest member of her family to run a stall on Barnsley Market, with the tradition going back generations.

"My mum and dad have always been market traders and my nan and grandad were market traders before that, so I grew up on the market," she said.

"All the way through my childhood I was on the market. Every single Saturday I would be there."

This photo dating from the 1900s shows Barnsley outdoor market with the Cross Keys Hotel in the background

Ms Smark said she wanted to move with the times by promoting her dessert stall on social media, but some stallholders had found it "mind-boggling".

She said her efforts on TikTok had attracted "raised eyebrows" from some traditional traders at first, but people had since come round to the idea and were interested in doing the same.

"They are a stubborn bunch, the market lot," she said. "I don't think it wound them up, it was just a bit like, 'Well, if that's what you're doing'.

"But then, after that, I've had loads of them come up to me, like, 'What can I do? How can I do this?'"

The celebrations will acknowledge the market's "enduring role in shaping the vibrant community of Barnsley", the council said

As well as the events taking place on Tuesday to mark Barnsley Market's 775th anniversary, a month-long exhibition at Barnsley's Glass Works will also show historical documents, images and artefacts.

Paul Stebbing, from Barnsley Archives, said sadly "very little record" of the market survived from the 13th Century.

"Barnsley Market's original charter no longer survives, [but] the National Archives in London has the original Market Charter Roll recording the fact that Henry III granted permission to Barnsley."

It was "fantastic" that the market's incredibly long history was being celebrated in this way, Mr Stebbing added.

A ceremonial ringing of the market bell in the atrium marks the 775th celebrations