Section 4 of the Interactive Bishop’s Waltham Trail
St George’s Square
The millennium clock stands where the former Market House building stood. The earliest reference to a market in Bishop’s Waltham is in Edward I’s reign, but no market was ever held in the Market House. In the early 18 Century, it was used as a lock-up for petty crimes. It was reported that that prisoners were kept in a cage underneath the building and were given drink by dipping the bowl of a long pipe in beer and passing the stem through the cage and used as a straw. Later, the upper story was a school. The Market House was demolished in 1841.
The millennium clock surmounted by a Bishop’s mitre signifies the town’s links with the past and the Bishops of Winchester.
Now walk up the High Street to Josie’s Coffee Shop.
