Cirencester Charter Market

Cirencester's charter market fills the Market Place every Monday and Friday from 9am to 3pm. It is the town's general market, run for Cirencester Town Council by Cotswold Markets Ltd, and it sets up in front of the parish church of St John the Baptist, in the middle of Cirencester.

What you find

The operator says the market has a long history and that some of its traders have been coming for more than 30 years. It is free to walk round and suits a morning in the town with a coffee on the Market Place afterwards.

Other markets in the Market Place

On the second and fourth Saturday of the month the farmers' market takes over, and a craft market is held on the first Saturday from 9am to 5pm. Before Christmas the council runs extra markets: an Advent Market on 28 and 29 November 2026, with the Christmas light switch-on on the Saturday, Christmas Markets on 5 and 6 December, and Christmas Gift Markets from 13 to 22 December, which run alongside the charter and farmers' markets. Christmas Day 2026 and New Year's Day 2027 both fall on a Friday, and when we checked the council had not said whether the market runs on them, so check with the markets team before going.

Getting there and parking

Cirencester has no station of its own: Kemble, about 4 miles (6km) south-west, has trains from London Paddington, and the 882 bus (Monday to Saturday, about 20 minutes) or a taxi brings you into town. The 855 bus links Cirencester with Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water, Monday to Saturday. The town's car parks are a few minutes' walk from the Market Place; see parking in the Cotswolds and our Cirencester guide for which is which.

For lunch, the King's Head is on the Market Place itself and the Fleece a step away. With the afternoon free, walk out through Cirencester Park.