All the information you need for setting up on market day

These are the pages on which you will find all the information you need for trading at our next market.

We ask that you spend some time reading through the details below. We regularly update the information here and its important that you review it before each market so that you don’t miss something critical!

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our next market. We offer a ‘Nice to see you again!’ if you have traded with us before and a ‘Happy to have you here!’ to our newbies. We wish all traders a successful and profitable day.

You will find generic information which applies to all stallholders below. Further down the page, you’ll find information relating to each market area. Please click on the section which applies to you to see the specific details on what you are expected to bring with you, setting up, trading during the day and close down.

First and foremost, lets cover the basics!

  • The address for the market is St Mary’s Square, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 3AF

  • The market trading hours are 11:00 until 15:00

  • For set-up times in each market area, please check on the relevant page accessed by the links below

  • Your stall must be ready for inspection by 10:45

  • If you arrive after 10:30 you may not be allowed to set-up, we are enforcing this in 2022 and under these circumstances, we will not issue refunds for pitch fees

  • Break down and packing away can begin no earlier than 15:00. If this is seen to happen, we may cancel any future bookings. Again, under these circumstances, we will not issue refunds for pitch fees

  • Stalls must be cleared by 16:00

  • You MUST take your rubbish home to dispose of rather than using the bins on site 

  • We pre-allocate stall pitches. It is not possible to change your pitch on the day

  • We NEVER guarantee pitch locations. We need to remain flexible on pitch locations right up to the day of the market as we do receive last minute bookings and cancellations. If you request a specific pitch location, we will try to accommodate your request but please understand, we will never make promises that you will be in the same position every month or that you will be in your requested pitch location

  • If you can’t make it on the day PLEASE email us as soon as you know you aren’t coming! If we know we are likely to be left with gaps in our layout, we move pitches around to ensure we aren’t left with lots of space between stalls

  • The public toilets in St Mary’s Square and in the Church Hall will be open from 9am

  • Food and drinks are available on St Mary’s Square, there are also plenty of coffee shops and restaurants in the High Street

An important note for all traders: Other than inside St Mary’s Church Hall, we do not have spare tables or chairs for you to use. We also do not have spare power cables, weather proof boxes, power converters, payment terminals, trolleys, gazebo weights, guy ropes, gazebo’s, product stands, warm clothing or partridges in pear trees! We would love to supply these things for you but it is not possible.

Please check carefully to ensure you have everything you need to enable you to trade safely. You would be astounded at the things we are asked for on the day. We are lovely humans, we will help where we can and we want you to have the best experience possible but we are not magicians and can’t fix everything for you.

Please also be patient with us. The period between 8am and 11am are extremely busy for us and we have lots of people coming to us with questions. We work as fast as we can and try and help people in the order they approach us. In the past the organisers have been faced with abusive language and threatening behaviour when stallholders haven’t understood the limitations of what we agree to provide. You are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of booking regularly.

We understand that we ask you to read a lot of information on set up but it is critical you take the time to do this and to follow the rules we set. We want you to have the best experience possible when trading at our market and reading the information we give you will make sure this happens.

If you have any questions, please ask!

Finding an organiser

We have plenty of staff present on the day. You can see them easily as they wear purple hi-vis jackets with Hemel Old Town Market on the back. Only the market organisers will have these jackets. You may see other people wearing yellow hi-vis jackets but please direct all queries to people wearing purple vests.

Your allocated pitch

Our stalls are carefully allocated in advance and we will not be able to move you on the day. You MUST NOT change your pitch location without clearing it with an organiser first. If this does happen, we will ask you to move back to your allocated spot. In previous months our careful allocation plan (which generally takes around 4 to 5 hours to create) was disrupted by stallholders setting up wherever they felt was best for them. This severely impacted several other stallholders; this practice will not be allowed to continue.

Unloading

Unloading on market day is always a challenge. We need your help to ensure things run smoothly. The parking bays on the High Street are free to use all day. Please be considerate of other stallholders and other road users, do not block pavements by parking on them while unloading. The continuation of the market is reliant on the goodwill of the Council. Blocking pavements, even for a short period of time causes complaints to be made.

Road Closures

The Council have chosen to close the road on market day for reasons of Health and Safety. It will be closed from 10.00am until 3.30pm. However, the gate marshal will let through all stall holders and people helping to set up stalls prior to the market opening and also from 3.00pm to pack away.

Footfall

We will always do our best to ensure that you get maximum footfall in your location and have advertised the market areas heavily on social media. We put up plenty of signage to direct market visitors to your location and our DJ makes regular announcements to direct customers to your location. One area is no ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than another but if you have a request to be in a specific area, please email us. We will do our best to accommodate all requests while continuing to ensure similar stalls are not placed next to each other.

Parking

Plenty of spaces can be found in the public car park which is located behind the High Street. The best address to use for this car park is 108 High St, Hemel Hempstead HP1 3AQ. Please see the map below which shows the best pedestrian access route through from the car park to the churchyard from where you can then access the arches or the area for gazebo pitches. You will need to pay for parking here, but it is very cheap, less than £2 for 10 hours.

Stall locations

We use the area around St Mary’s Church to host the market. Stalls can be found Under the Arches, in the grounds of St Mary’s Church, in St Mary’s Church Hall and on St Mary's Square. We sometimes have Community Partner pitches inside St Marys Church as well. Our DJ will highlight these areas on the day.

Shut-down

You must not dismantle your stall before 3pm. If you sell out (and we genuinely hope you do!) you are welcome to pack away items but your table and/or gazebo/food van must remain in place until 3pm. We insist on this for several reasons. Leaving early means that gaps are left between pitches and the market customers are discouraged from visiting all market areas. There is also a health and safety implication to carrying bulky items and boxes through a busy market ground. We may cancel future bookings if this request is ignored.

Social media

Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and SHARE our events. We want to maximise the number of visitors for everyone's benefit. Please don't create your own market event as we monitor likely attendance via social media. Keep an eye out for our invitation to take part in the Stall Holder Highlights we post in the week before the market. This is a free marketing opportunity and we encourage your participation.

 

This map shows the public car park closest to the market grounds. Please park in the marked bays only and do not block parked cars in.

Many local residents use these spaces and blocking them in while unloading causes us to receive complaints.

Below you will find information specific to each market trading area. Please do take the time to read through, doing so will mean you will have all the details you need to get the best experience on market day

  • St Marys Square

    For stallholders booked on St Marys Square

    Click here

  • Under the Arches

    For stallholders booked under the arches

    Click here

  • Gazebos

    For stallholders booked in a gazebo in the Churchyard

    Click here

  • St Marys Church Hall

    For stallholders booked in St Mary's Hall

    Click Here

  • St Marys Church

    For Community Partners booked inside St Marys Church

    Click Here