Brighton’s Open Market might be gone within two years.

My grandparents sold ladies’ lingerie at the Hanley Market in Stoke-on-Trent. They were not tremendously successful, but they managed to survive financially.

My aunt and one uncle also became market sellers, and my father and his younger brother were allowed to complete their schooling after the age of 14.

Both became Church of England vicars. So I believe they continued the family heritage of trading, but with a new product!

As a small boy, my father would help out on the stand on Saturdays, where he learnt a few words of Yiddish and delighted customers by selling razor blades “sharp enough, ladies, to cut your husband’s throat”.

It was quite offensive, but evidently some thought it humorous coming from the mouth of a five-year-old who had no concept what he was saying.

The Hanley Market is still open today, however it is now located on the lower floors of the Potteries Centre, which was erected above it.

When compared to labouring outside in all weather conditions, my grandparents would only marvel at the convenience of the market now being covered.

There were several public discussions held in the early 2000s when the City Council planned to rejuvenate Brighton’s Open Market between London Road and Ditchling Road.

Upon seeing the proposed plans, several of us expressed disappointment that the market would remain untapped. I asked the developer’s representative why they didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to install a roof.

He stated that they were staying faithful to the legacy of being a ‘open market’. He didn’t grasp that the phrase ‘open’ did not refer to the building, but to the fact that it was open to the public, as contrast to the wholesale market in Circus Street (now defunct).