‘We never thought after Covid, we’d ever get busy again. But we’re busier than ever now’
In the days leading up to Christmas, there will often be a queue snaking around the entrance of Bury Market, trailing through other stalls and down the underpass. But most of them won’t be lining the streets for a viral toy, or a sold-out internet craze. They’ll be looking to get their hands on cheese. All kinds of cheese.
In fact, Purdons Cheese Stall sells more than 200 varieties of cheese on any given day – ranging from Lancashire favourites to Garstang specialities. “This one is better than viagra,” owner Paul Purdon tells the M.E.N as he brings out a slice of black charcoal cheese. “There’s a reason why a lot of people buy it!”
Paul’s family started selling meat at Bolton Market more than 50 years ago. Whilst working at Bolton Market with his dad, Paul met his wife Pam. Today, they both lead the operation of the stall – which has since become purely focused on cheese. Six years ago, they left Bolton Market and have called Bury Market their sole permanent base ever since having spent fifteen years prior between the two stalls.
Asked whether they have any regrets about making the move from the stall’s market roots, Paul is defiant. “None whatsoever. It was getting quieter and quieter for us. We realised it just wasn’t the clientele that we wanted and we just haven’t really looked back since we set up at Bury really. It’s been going very well for us.”
Operating three days a week, their selection on offer will range from their usual favourites to a host of specials and oddities. Current choices include a ‘Kick Ass’ cheddar, Yorkshire blue, a ‘Red hot chilli cheese’ and even Christmas Tree-shaped cheddar cheeses on offer. On the continental side, there’s Dutch Gouda, French Gruyere and Pecorino Sardo, from Sardinia in Italy. Those feeling brave can also indulge in a bag of ‘cheese bits’ – featuring assorted crumbs and slices of all kinds of flavours.
Whilst managing to remain popular to marketgoers throughout the year, it’s Christmas which is undeniably their busiest time. “We had to get barriers to control the crowds last year,” Paul recalls. “We had people queuing up from the morning right until the end for three days solid.”
Asked why he thinks they get the most demand at Christmas, he says it’s quite explanatory. “People like to treat themselves and their families at this time of year and get something special in,” he explains. “You can’t have Christmas without a good cheese board!”
Paul says most people will have an idea of what they want to buy, but others will seek out advice from himself and Pam on what would go well with certain things. “It does make me laugh sometimes when people just come up to me and ask me to recommend them a cheese,” Paul says. “How am I supposed to know their personal taste? I don’t know what they like. But we will often suggest good pairings or good cheeses that have certain flavours.”
Asked what’s on their cheese board this year, the pair have a confession to make. “People think we are always eating all kinds of cheese when we’re at home,” Pam says, “but, really, we tend to only have crumbly Lancashire at home. We only go all out when we have guests coming over!”
But, that being said, when asked for their recommendations for a good Christmas cheese board this year, the pair know exactly what to suggest. “We’d say Lancashire, a Cheddar, a blue or a brie, and a fruity one – like a cranberry or an apricot,” Paul offers up. “Generally, a bit of cheddar, a bit of blue or stilton, and you’ll be pretty much covered.”
It’s also not just people from Bury who visit Purdons. Regularly throughout the week, the market will have coachloads of visitors from all over the country heading on down to peruse the market’s wares on offer. And many will often make a beeline for their cheese stall. “A lot of them tend to have already heard of us,” Paul laughs.
Paul and Pam say they have seen how cheese habits have changed over the years – with people becoming a little more adventurous in their choices. “When we first started, all people ever wanted was Lancashire, cheddar, or Blue Stilton,” Pam explains. “Nowadays, there’s all kinds of different things that people ask for.” Paul adds: “Nowadays, there’s all kinds of different things that people ask for. You find that as soon as one dairy farmer does something unusual, they all jump on board with a version of it and everyone starts taking notice.
“But the trick has always been for us to know what people want. We could stock hundreds more cheeses if we wanted to, but we know that not enough people would buy it or it would be too expensive for them. I think we’ve figured out our customer really well to know what will work and what won’t.”
Asked why they think Bury Market is so popular and often hailed as one of the best markets in the country, Paul and Pam say it’s mostly down to the people – both customers and traders. Paul says: “The prices are right, there’s a good variety of traders, and it’s about the personal service you get here that you just can’t get in a supermarket. It’s just a good vibe in town, really. I think it’s well managed and the owners do really well to keep things on track.
“We never thought after Covid, we’d ever get busy again. We all thought back then that it was going to be the end of the market. But, for us, we’re actually busier than we ever were before the pandemic.”
Pam adds: “Sometimes, people will come over to us because they just want a chat. They might not necessarily want to buy anything, but going out to the market is one of their only bits of interaction with other people. You can’t really do that in a big chain shop. We have people who spend the whole day here – they will be one of the first people you’ll see in the morning and you’ll spot them again when you’re packing up in the afternoon. It’s so big that you can make it a day out.”
Whilst electricity costs have gone up and the cost of cheese has also seen big price hikes, the pair say that rent for their stall has mostly stayed the same. A major £33m Bury Market regeneration project is currently underway, which will include additions to the outdoor market as well as constructing a new Flexi Hall. The scheme is set to be completed in the summer and aims to boost the market, and help it for a number of years to come.
But there is a bit of uncertainty coming Bury Market’s way in the form of what the future might hold for the old Indoor Market. It was closed back in 2023 after Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) was found in the roof – deemed to be a health and safety risk. All traders based there have since relocated to the outdoor market – with Paul suggesting many won’t want to make another move again.
“They moved all the traders out there and I think most of them will tell you now that they’re doing better here than they were before,” Paul suggests. “I think they may have trouble getting people back there now.”
A number of options have been proposed for the indoor market building. It could be given a full overhaul and refurbishment, with estimated costs of more than £6m, or a brand new ‘futureproofed’ building could be built. Other ideas include a new outdoor covered market, new storage container kiosk-style stalls, or an extension of the current outdoor set-up.
Should refurbishment or other major works interfere with the stalls, Paul and Pam seem to think it may be a sign that its time for them to consider the end of the stall. “If they need to do some big works on that, they will need to move us all once again,” Paul says. “I think, in all honesty, if or when that happens, then we will probably decide that’s the time for us to retire.
“Once you start moving about, you might as well be setting up a new stall from scratch and have to kit things out again. I’m not doing that again. But we don’t see that happening for a good few years right now, so it’s business as usual until we hear otherwise.”
Purdons Cheese Stall is at Gable End Stall 5, Bury Market, Murray Road, Bury, BL9 0BJ.
