These days, St Nicholas Market in Bristol is a bustling place full of independent food stalls and shops, but it has been the city’s main place of trading since 1743.
Known to many simply as St Nicks, it has Bristol’s largest collection of permanent independent retailers including in a new area called FoodSourceBS1, which has opened this week.
READ THIS: 10 amazing photos showing life in Bristol Harbourside over the decades
In the old days, the market was more about flowers, fruit and veg stalls, butchers and fishmongers.
We’ve trawled through the archives to find eight incredible photos of the market over the years.
5. Long lost pub
The subterranean pub Ye Grotto in St Nicholas Market had a Hobbit-style look. Photo: Bristol Archives | Bristol Archives
6. Corn Exchange
Pictured in the late 1950s, the grand entrance to the Corn Exchange building on Corn Street before it was pedestrianised. Photo: Bristol Archives | Bristol Archives
7. Glass Arcade
This amazing photo from 1910 shows a huge flower stall in the Glass Arcade at the entrance onto High Street. Photo: Bristol Archives | Bristol Archives
8. Floral displays
The flower market in the Glass Arcade pictured in 1958 - note the sign for the long-gone Steak & Stilton restaurant. Photo: Bristol Archives | Bristol Archives