ANNIVERSARY OF MARKET HARBOROUGH MARKET CHARTER

Early day motion 338, tabled 5 January 2004 by Lord Garnier (Conservative). Signed by 14 members.

That this House congratulates the people and town of Market Harborough on the 800th anniversary of the granting by King John of a market charter to the town in 1203/1204; recalls that Henry II, as Lord of Bowden, encouraged the establishment of a market in Harborough for his Manor of Bowden in the 1170s; wishes the town another 800 years of commercial prosperity; notes that the town's market, now held in a purpose built market hall close to the site of the old cattle market, continues to thrive and that the livestock market, which is now held in the parish of Foxton, three miles outside the town, attracts buyers and sellers from across and beyond the English Midlands, maintaining Harborough's centuries old connection with agriculture and its reputation as a district noted for its rich grazing land along the Welland Valley and for producing some of the country's finest sheep and cattle for market; and further notes that Market Harborough Grammar School, now called the Robert Smyth School, has within the last 100 years educated Sir William Bragg, a Nobel Physics Prize Laureate, and Martin Johnson CBE, the captain of England's 2003 World Cup Rugby team.

Signatures by party: Conservative 8, Labour 5, Labour/Co-operative 1.