A brief history of
All Saints Arts and Crafts Market

The Market was started in the summer of 1975, as a way of supporting Cambridge artists and craftspeople by giving them somewhere to sell what they make. It was the brainchild of the City Council's legendary Ken Woollard, who also founded the Cambridge Folk Festival.

In the early days, the Market was a fair-weather, summer-only event. The stalls had no roofs, and if it rained, the artists would fling plastic sheets over their displays, and retreat under the trees with umbrellas for shelter (or if needs be, hide under the tables!)

Christmas trading at the Gardens didn't begin until around 1988, when the artists variously bought or created some form of weather-proofing for their stalls. Before that, from around 1980, the Market had set itself up in the Corn Exchange for the Christmas season.

Although under the auspices of the City Council, the Market has always been run by one of the stallholders. For over eighteen years, this role was admirably filled by Tony Weston, who once memorably described his job as "a cross between an odd-job man and constitutional monarch". Tony's dedication was crucial to the Market's success, and he is still to be found there, selling his pottery by the gate. In recent years, the Market has been in the capable hands of Chris Nunn, the woodturner.

For the City Council, the Market falls under the wing of Andy White, who has been consistently supportive throughout!