Remembering market hall with 'everything under one roof' that 'should never have changed'

A 170-year old shopping complex in Greater Manchester has seen many changes over the years, but some wish they could go back to the way it used to be.

Bolton Market Hall - once the largest covered market in the country - dates back to 1855 and forms part of Bolton's Market Place shopping complex. Many re-developments of the building have taken place over the years, most notably in 1988, when the newly refurbished hall was reopened as the Market Place Shopping Centre by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2007, another major refurbishment saw the Victorian grade two-listed building close for a £30m redevelopment, transforming it into a three-level shopping mall with a glass-fronted extension.

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The plans saw many of the market hall traders face losing their livelihoods or uprooting to other venues. A petition was signed by more than 80,000 people to try keep the small traders but the plans to transform the shopping centre went ahead.

Speaking to the M.E.N. just before it closed for the 18-month refurbishment in 2007, stallholder and secretary of the Market Hall Traders' Association, Peter Hardcastle, said: "The council are turning it into a shopping mall, bringing in big chain stores and making Bolton look exactly the same as every other town.

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"The difference between a market and a high street store is the friendliness, the personal contact and the lack of pressure. As for me I am packing it in.

"A number of the other traders are relocating but I have had enough. After 96-years as a family business it is time to take a break and look at what I am going to do