Many people popping into the Beverley branch of Tesco may not realise that the store, and the spot where they parked in order to do their shopping, was once taken up by a busy livestock market.
A plaque on the superstore wall does bear testament to the site’s history but it possibly goes unnoticed by many passing through its portals to purchase their weekly groceries. The last trading of livestock on the Morton Lane site took place in April 2001.
Rival bids to build a supermarket on the land initially came from Safeway and Tesco, with the cattle market granted a temporary stay of execution by East Riding Council, after its lease ran out. The market was allowed to continue trading as a “legal trespasser”, until the developers moved in to create the new Tesco superstore.
Here we take a look back at the cattle market, including its famous Christmas Fat Stock Show, a traditional competition for showcasing the best produce animals, including pigs, sheep and cattle, with some of the supreme beasts then going on sale for the Christmas market.
READ MORE: Pupils at Beverley Grammar School from the late 1990s to early 2000s – in pictures