Birmingham - the market place

Buying and selling has been an important part of life in Birmingham for more than eight hundred years. In fact men used to sell their wives there as recently as the 18th century! (In 1733 Samuel Whitehouse sold his wife to Thomas Griffiths in the market place for a little more than one pound!) Although neither husbands nor wives are for sale nowadays, Birmingham's markets offer a large choice of other goods.

Each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the colourful rag market can be found. People used to come to buy and sell old clothes (rags) but now there is a wide selection of modern fashions for everybody.

Years ago farmers used to sell their animals at the Bull Ring, but now it is one of the biggest open-air markets and shopping centres in the United Kingdom. People enjoy shopping there because it has modern shops, together with the atmosphere of a traditional street market.

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 53

Describe any famous markets you have visited and the kinds of things you have bought.