Auction market celebrates 400 years with huge bank holiday sale

An market with a long history celebrated 400 years since it was established during the reign of King James I.

Methwold Auction Market, located in the heart of the Norfolk village, is now a family-run business and has been in the same hands for more than four decades.

George Reeve has been at the market for 43 years and it has now moved onto his step children Steve Tyman and Sally Forest.

He said: “We have kept the market in the family and there are not many auctions around like us.

“It is quite unusual to have an auction like this and there are not many left which still run on their original lines.

“We have a copy of the original charter as well and it is really difficult to read, and the original one is in Norwich Museum.”

There has been a market in the parish of Methwold, which sits on the outskirts of the Fens and Breckland, since the Norman times and its main trade was dealing in rabbit pelts.

Today the auction market still operates under its original charter and tries to keep alive traditions that have continued through the centuries, though the types of things on sale have changed somewhat over time.

A wide range and variety of items are on sale each week and recent lots include an old fireplace, a bike and a caravan.

There is frequently in excess of 800 lots on sale every Monday however on this special anniversary they cleared more than 1,200.

“Things sold really well, it was absolutely brilliant,” said Mr Reeve.

“We have been training and mentoring Steve to take over and he has taken to it a treat.”

The Methwold History Society also held a number of events throughout the day to help educate residents and visitors about the history of the market.

St George’s Hall, the village hall, also celebrated a significant anniversary over the bank holiday as it marked 125 years since it was given to the village by Robert Goodrich, a London businessman who moved to Norfolk in 1889.