Lymington Charter Market

Lymington Charter Market is a traditional market, established in 1250. It takes place along the length of the High Street every Saturday throughout the year from 8 am to 4 pm and is by far the largest street market in the New Forest area.  

With a great deal of history, it is a special experience for New Forest locals and visitors to enjoy. 

The market has over 100 stalls, selling a wide range of produce, including plants, food produce, general household goods, clothing, craft items, and bric-a-brac.

Pick a sunny day, and you can spend a fascinating few hours exploring Lymington's Charter Market!

Please note that there is no parking on Lymington High Street between 6 am and 6 pm every Saturday. Cars can be parked in one of the town car parks - click here to the New Forest District Council website for information about car parks.

For visitors, find more information here

For market stalls click here

For traders, find information here

Lymington Charter Market is run by Lymington and Pennington Town Council: 

Town Council Office
Town Hall
Avenue Road
Lymington
SO41 9ZG

t: 07585 607358   e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Or if you prefer to fill in a form with your query please click here

A brief history of Lymington Market

The Earl William de Redvers was quick to note the opportunity to profit from a market and fair, and his charter of priviledges, granted between 1184 and 1216 formed the Borough of New Lymington. It is thought that this first Charter applied to the area to the west of the Church (now St Thomas's Street) and probably a small settlement by the river, near the quay and salterns. This earliest Charter probably created the High Street.

Earl Baldwin added a second Charter around 1256, which it is thought extended the Borough north of the Church to include Barfields and perhaps created New Street. It was the monks of the Cistercian Abbey in Beaulieu who copied out the second Charter in about 1256 and referred to an earlier Charter and this survives in the British Museum. Interestingly no record of an '1150 Charter' which inspired the 800th anniversary celebrations in 1950 has been found!

So Lymington is one of the towns in England to receive a Charter from a feudal lord, with no intervention from the Crown. This map shows Lymington in about 1680.