Urmston’s first Artisan market of 2026 opened in February at Golden Hill Park.
Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, with a population of 41,731. It has medieval origins, a railway heritage, and a district hospital that inaugurated the NHS in 1948.
The Urmston Artisan Market, run by The Market Co. Launched in 2016 and occupies the Golden Hill park land. It was established to provide a new shopping experience, featuring over 100 local and regional traders.
According to The Market Co “People now demand much more, they want an experience, they want customer service, and they want choice and knowledge, character and diversity.
For many years Urmston held a successful Farmers market on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. The old site on Railway Road is now an abandoned wasteland.
The nearby Trafford Centre opened in 1998, and some believe proved to be the death knell to this once thriving market town. As with many other smaller towns in the surrounding area, gone are the high street butcher, fishmongers, dress shops, gift shops, and a range of smaller food stores.
In 2009 Sainsbury arrived shortly followed by Aldi in 2012, and although larger stores offered one stop shopping, it meant that footfall around the remaining declining businesses continued. The Cancer Research shop will close in 2026 due in part for this reason.
Clare Thompson a local silversmith who runs a jewellery stall at the market, is very pleased to be back, saying: “Urmston is a good pitch and the people are brilliant.”
Artisan markets introduce a pleasurable and entertaining way to shop, reflective of a bygone era. One young couple said “We come here now for all our bread and cakes, and of course coffee.”
This is an important opinion as the local supermarkets seem to only offer an established well known range that has limited variety.
The artisan market offers a plethora of stalls. Foodies will love the street food section. Hot food such as gyros, burritos ,wood fired pizza, paella and an optimistic ice cream van selling flavours from elderflower sorbet to traditional rum and raisin.
There are too many cookie, brownie and cheesecake stalls to restrict oneself to one sample only. The famous Barbikan bakery offers fresh polish bread and preserves, a Spanish delicatessen offers free samples of nduja alongside a huge array of their charcuterie boards.
When ones appetite is sated, there are unusual and hand made jewellery stalls, flower pots, and a unique memorabilia store of all things Musically Manchester, with of course a nod to our Salford neighbours. Even our furry friends are catered for (the market is dog friendly) with a organic Woof! range of treats and meals. The portrait stall encourages children to sit while a likeness is created, and if pushed for time will post a remarkable likeness from a snapshot taken at the stall.
Essentially The Artisan Market offers something for everyone. It encourages vendors from out of the area, the first stall at the entrance is The Salford Rum Company, and thus invites visitors looking for a family friendly shopping experience , without the inevitable till queues and supermarket jingles.
Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, said: “Urmston Artisan Market is a real jewel in the crown for Trafford, a shopping and leisure experience that’s grown to become a lynchpin of our retail scene.
“The Market Co and the traders work hard every month to put together a high-quality, welcoming experience with wide-ranging social, cultural, and economic benefits. Long may it continue!”