Dickens Christmas Market at Rochester Castle

By jayenolan | Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 20:56

The first two weeks of December will see a huge market take place in the grounds of Rochester Castle, attracting thousands of visitors to the historic town.

Shop till you drop at a Dickensian Christmas Market in Rochester Castle - but don't forget the High Street!

The organisers, Dream Workshop, also hope that stallholders from as far afield as Germany will take up positions in the market, adding to the colourful array of products on offer. Details of how to register for a stall in the market can be found on their website.

However, some local businesses are unhappy at the prospect of the market, fearing it will draw trade away from them. They’re also upset that the possible three hundred stallholders are being given incentives, such as free waste disposal and parking (although it’s unclear as to whether these costs are covered in the hire price of one of the specially constructed chalets the stallholders will be selling from).

I’m keen to know your thoughts on this – I was under the impression that trade dropped off in the High Street when the flea market was cancelled, so wouldn’t bringing a big market back, albeit just for two weeks, benefit the area? Would people travelling into the area specially for the market, not take the opportunity to also explore the rest of the High Street, being that you can walk from one end to the other in a few minutes? Wouldn’t this be a good thing for the local businesses?

From my own experience of coach travel, the first thing I’d want when I got off would be food, and with the abundance of wonderful eateries we have, there’s plenty of choice for a hungry shopper to build up their energies prior to a spendfest! That could just be me, I know, but even shopaholics have to eat!

Photo courtesy of diamond meadows flickrstream

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Comments

There's also park and rides from Strood Academy and Dickens World to Corporation Street this weekend, and from the Historic Dockyard to Waterfront Way on 10/11th December and 17th/18th December.

Car parking generally is free in Rochester from now until January 4th between 10am to 4pm. And the car parks will be free from 10am - 7pm on 14th, 16th, 21st and 23rd December.

By JoeGuide at 19:49 on 02/12/10
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There will be a free park and ride for the market, going from the car park at Horsted, opposite the site of the old Mid Kent College. It will run for six days a week during the market instead of it's normal one day a week. The Corporation Street car park will also be free for the duration of the event.

By MedMel at 10:10 on 30/11/10
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What is Dickensian about a German Market why cant we go back to TheTraditional Street traders, Jesters and street entertainers all seen at the festival in past years, when the City of Rochester was on the map of the world as a place to visit, changing the Traditional Format was not a good idea.

To make the Festivals of Dickensian Rochester a success you need to be looking at the format from the successful years, NOT that of German ones !!

The Traditional Markets held in Rochester should be reinstated. They were mentioned in the Doomsday book, and the site on which they were held was given to the people of Rochester, (not the city council, who wanted the site just to be a car park).

By traditonal at 09:55 on 31/10/10
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what has a German market got to do with the traditions of Rochester, bring back the original markets that are mentioned in the doomsday book they are traditional in England

By traditonal at 09:40 on 31/10/10
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Apparently, planning permission has not yet been granted for this! It hasn't exactly raised temperatures though - only two letters for and two against, and I have to say, to use music, parking and traffic as reasons to not grant it is ridiculous, bearing in mind how many festivals we have and all the live music available every week!

By Bumbles_30 at 09:52 on 13/07/10
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