More Than Meats The Eye

Victoria Poolman travelled to Melton Mowbray to meet General Manager, Bryan Robinson.

Put down your pork pie and pay attention, because there’s a whole lot more going on in Melton Mowbray than gelatine and pastry.

Aside from selling around 700 cattle and 5-7,000 sheep every Tuesday, the market at Melton attracts the hoards with a farmer’s market, fur and feather sale, antiques fair and horse and tack stall. As if that wasn’t enough to keep the crowds amused, each Sunday the old sheep shed is transformed into “the largest car boot sale in the UK that can guarantee a roof over your head and concrete under your feet,” says General Manager, Bryan Robinson.

In case you’re wondering, that’s not all Bryan’s got to show off about. He tells me, “Our catchment area is huge, covering Lincolnshire, Nottingham, East and South Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Rutland Suffolk, Warwickshire, Worcester, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and even Kent and Surrey (you can breathe now). It’ll come as no surprise to know that Melton Mowbray Market is geographically one of the largest, pulling in the punters from far and wide on a regular basis.

Indeed, of the auction marts I’ve attended, many are situated outside the town to cause minimum disruption, whereas Melton folk see it quite differently.

As Bryan tells me, “On Tuesdays the town is buzzing, with large numbers of people descending upon the small town, whereas the rest of the time it’s fairly quiet.” Rather like a seaside resort, Melton Mowbray’s locals depend upon the market for trade; “when we shut during the Foot and Mouth in 2001, the effect on the town was devastating, with some of the shops never reopening.”

But it’s understandable that the locals have built their lives around the auction mart, having had a market of this kind in Melton Mowbray since the mid 1800s, when the cattle were driven down to the railway station at the end of the road and loaded onto trains. (First class, of course.)

And though Bryan is only in his thirties, he has detailed memories of what Melton Mowbray Market was like back when he was a nipper.

“As a youngster, my mother used to sit me on top of the poultry pens and I’d watch a gentleman sell budgerigars - that chap is still here and now I’m his boss!”

He continues: “Melton was an important part in my growing up. As an example of the role it played in my childhood, when I was 12, my father died and I remember it was a Monday, and on the Tuesday, I was sent to Melton to buy some chickens to cheer me up.

“I’ve watched it change over the years, and come along to sale days with family throughout my life – so when the chance to manage it came up, I couldn’t believe my luck.”

Bryan, who has his own farm with pedigree Hereford cattle and 100 breeding sheep, isn’t the only one who is in a position to reminisce.  There are four market partners at Melton: Martin Shouler, David Willars, Simon Allam and Ben Shouler, with Martin having been a partner “since Jesus was a boy.” Beneath the partners, is a workforce of 120.

But despite tradition being the root of the market, Bryan hasn’t been afraid to make changes, with the first step being to reinstate the monthly pig sale, which has been very popular.

Indeed, when it comes to ambition and business acumen, the market couldn’t be in safer hands. Bryan tells me, “My remit is to take the market forward by expanding on current ideas, getting more livestock through and developing further. The days have gone when a market can rely on selling livestock to make its living, so we need to embrace the challenge and diversify.

“With this in mind, we have had a food festival and will hold a beer festival too, in September. With the support of chef, James Martin, who demonstrated at the food event, we also hope to host a motor show next year.”

But it’s not all boy’s toys, with the market reinventing its old calf and pig pens as a rather novel setting for romance. Bryan explains, “We now cater for weddings, and are able to provide a sit-down dinner for up to 800 people.”

Having come up with the idea during the Foot and Mouth of 2001, the market now does about 20 weddings a year, as well as balls and conferences.

“We are also currently in the process of acquiring a licence to do muslim weddings”, says Bryan, “as next to the entrance of our site is a Hallal abattoir, so we would source our food from there.”

For this council-owned market, with its 18 acres of land, the sky is the limit - though the main focus will always be Tuesday’s main market. Aside from the usual sales, the poultry shed comes alive each week with a 9:30am auction, and on the first and third Saturday of each month, Melton has a horse sale. In addition, each September the market holds a two day sale for the Rare Breed Survival Trust, and another for the national Sheep Association (NSA). When Bryan and I meet, he’s also got his hands full in preparation for their big farm dispersal sale on 31st May.

No rest for the wicked, they say, but there’s nothing wicked about Bryan Robinson. Clearly ambitious and whole-heartedly passionate about the future of the market, Bryan is warm and well liked by both his staff and the farmers who attend the market. As an fox-hunting man, he’s risen from the ranks of kennel man, aged sixteen, to become a master of hounds with his own pack. Bryan began auctioneering to, literally, bring home the bacon for his dogs. Now, with great hopes for his childhood haunt and, as we speak, just off to celebrate his 16th wedding anniversary at the age of 34, it’s clear that whatever Bryan does, he doesn’t do it by halves.

For more information, please visit www.meltonmowbraymarket.co.uk