market, the focus is on specialty produce, notably organic foods, hyper-local produce, artisanal products, vintage clothing or designer brands. Whereas traditional markets are in decline, gentrified markets represent a major growth opportunity. England's chartered markets and fairs From the 11th century, the English monarchs awarded a charter to local lords to create markets and fairs for a town or village. A charter granted the lords the right to take tolls from vendors and also afforded some protection to a town from rival markets. Once a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Gradually these market towns developed a reputation for quality or for trade in specific types of goods. Today, traders and showmen jealously guard these historic charters. County markets Covered Market, Oxford, Oxfordshire Covered Market, Preston Leeds Kirkgate Market, Yorkshire Old Market, Bristol Gloucestershire The Old Market, Hove Market Harborough Leicestershire London Between the 13th century and the Great Fire of 1666, London's main market was the Stocks Market, "on the site of the fixed pillory where traders were punished who fell foul of the Assize Courts." The Stocks Market was removed in 1737 as part of Christopher Wren's plans to rebuild the city. New wholesale markets were erected in strategic locations and these prospered until well into the 19th century with some continuing until modern times. The wholesale markets were highly controlled, closed environments that were minutely regulated and meticulously planned. These included Smithfield Meat Market (built in 1866), Billingsgate Fish Market (constructed in 1875) and Leadenhall Market (completed in 1881). The retail trade was largely serviced by itinerant street sellers or costermongers. In central London, costermongers worked along designated routes, selling door-to-door or by trading from some 36 unauthorised, but highly organised markets situated along major thoroughfares or meeting places such as Whitecross Street, Covent Garden and Leather Lane. In an attempt to regulate street trading, a number of authorised retail markets were built during the 19th century with limited success. Examples of retail markets constructed during this period include: St James, St George's (Southwark), Carnaby, Hungerford, Randall's (Poplar, London), Fitzroy, Finsbury, and the People's Market (Whitechapel), Angela Burdett-Coutts’ Market and Columbia Road Market (now a