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RDC News

The Farmers’ Market in the W.I. Hall is held on the first Saturday of each month from March to November from 9.30am to 12.30pm, under the direction if the Parish Council.

To see comments by Chairman of the Council, John Bond, in respect of the Farmers’ Market and its origins, please CLICK HERE

The Market (and the one recently started by Rochford Primary School - CLICK HERE ) are a valuable resource for shoppers in Rochford, providing an interesting addition to the provision of the shops of Rochford. As with the other Market, we talked to each of the stall holders to see who they were and where they came from and what they contributed to the resources of Rochford.

Popping into the Hall just before 8 o’clock in the morning we found a handful of the Parish Councillors (the ‘early shift’) setting out the Hall and helping early arriving traders in through the back doors. By 9.30 all the traders are in place and the doors are open for Rochford inhabitants looking for something a bit different. (After all much of what is here today is already found in the shops of Rochford, so it is has got to be the lure of ‘something different’ that brings in the customers).  

Immediately inside the doors to the right are several tables of meat with a continuous queue of customers buying the meat from Rhyne Park Farm provided by Liz Stone.
She tells me, “the Pork is all home reared, we make the sausages from own recipes, and all the pork products are ours. The lamb comes from Lamb Marney in Colchester and the chicken is local free range chicken. Everything we do is from small family-run businesses. Normally we are very busy here but today has been a bit quiet.”

Working our way around the Hall we next come to Valerie Stanton from Canewdon. She tells me she keeps horses & chickens, clearly selling eggs mostly home produced. Here is variety you are unlikely to find in the shops: duck eggs - blue – bantams and pullets – small – araucana eggs – blue. The colour of shell and size of egg is to do with hen, I am told.

Next to her are Suzanne White and her husband, Brian  from Althorpe (Suffolk) – selling meat (and some pies & cakes) which come from their farm. The meat, I am told, is well matured and which has been hung for 3 weeks. It looks good. I am tempted!

Next to Rekha is Ann Cushion, a Beekeeper from Leigh who has 24 hives – 48 in 5 weeks time. She is Chairman of Southend Bee Keepers. All her jams and marmalade have honey instead of sugar (reduce the sugar by 50% and replace it with honey - it’s good!)  Different colours of honey come from different hives and the colour depends on where the bees collect from – a lighter one where bees go down on Leigh Marshes, a darker one where hives back on Belfairs Woods. Why does some honey go solid? All honey in its natural state solidifies in time.     Tel. 07909 965117

Back at the door, we encounter Councillor John Ashton (below) welcoming everyone who comes in. Somewhere in the background Chairman John Bond keeps appearing (they are ‘the late shift’ of the Councillors.)