Oldham's Tommyfield Market closes after 200 years

Tommyfield Market, a fixture in Oldham for over 200 years, will close its doors for the final time on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The market, which has traded on the same site since the late 18th century, will see its traders move to a new indoor market opening in Spindles shopping centre just a week later.

The new market, simply called 'The Market', will open at 9am on Saturday, March 28 with around 70 traders making the move from Tommyfield. The modern facility includes an event space called The Loom, honouring Oldham's textile heritage, and aims to provide a fresh start for the town's market traders.

Once the move is complete, the old Tommyfield building will be demolished to make way for a new town centre park that will keep the Tommyfield name alive. Council leader Arooj Shah described the closure as 'the end of an era' but emphasised that Oldham's market heritage will continue in the new location.

The Tommyfield name comes from Thomas Whittaker, known locally as 'Owd Tommy', who owned the land in the late 1700s and was known for pig breeding. The current building dates from the 1990s, replacing a temporary structure built after the 1974 Victoria Market fire that destroyed the previous indoor market.