May Makers Market at People’s History Museum
Johnny James, Managing EditorVisit now
May Makers Market
Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.
Back for its second year, the May Makers Market sees People’s History Museum hand its Edwardian Engine Hall over to an even bigger mix of local craft makers.
The Museum’s Grade II listed, light-filled industrial space – often used for exhibitions and events tied to its collections – becomes a relaxed marketplace for the weekend, with stalls spread across the Engine Hall and into the surrounding galleries. It’s a slower, more spacious set-up than your average market, leaving room to do some proper browsing before inevitably picking up something you didn’t plan on buying.
Spread across 25 stalls, you’ll find ceramics, jewellery, illustration, textiles and homeware, with a line-up that spotlights the best independent makers from across the region. Jewellery is particularly well represented this year, with The Magpie’s Daughter returning with elegant, vintage-inspired designs. Poppy Orange takes a different tack with bold, colour-driven pieces made with unexpected materials, while Jilly G Design works with recycled silver to create more understated, everyday styles.
Carol Mowl and Valley of Stone add hand-thrown ceramics into the mix, while the playful illustrations of Bom Carrot and the stained-glass work of Hylas and the Imps add further variety. There’s also a pleasing link to the Museum’s wider focus, with slogan banners from Dinnersinthedog and textiles by Fern Cooke drawing on the visual language of protest. Whatever you pick up, it will have been lovingly handmade by a local, independent maker.
Beyond the stalls, the Hallé Ancoats Community Choir perform on the Sunday, adding a live soundtrack to the weekend alongside a free family-friendly trail. The Museum’s Gather café, meanwhile, launches a special market menu, with breakfast served from 10am. Later, think lunches with a local twist, plus homemade tray-bakes and cakes that Paul Hollywood would weep at.
And while you’re there, explore the free galleries. The Museum’s current exhibition, On The Line, traces a century of industrial action and collective resistance in the centenary year of the 1926 General Strike – a reminder that this place is more than just a striking backdrop for a good shop.
Free to enter and open to all ages, this is one of those low-effort, high-reward weekend plans.
