The Square, Market Harborough, around 1900 (Ref:M.H100.1983.1239.0)
On this coloured postcard a herd of sheep can be seen coming across the Square, which was the site of the traditional sheep market until 1903.
The Peacock Hotel in the background was opened in 1872 when the original Peacock Inn was demolished to enable St. Mary's Road to be widened. The house facing the road and the new building erected on the site of the old Peacock Inn were joined together to form the Peacock Hotel. The archway to the right of the building was demolished and is now the entrance to St Mary's place. To the left of the fountain are the Cock Inn and the Crown Inn, which still thrive today.
Dominating the foreground is the Brooke Memorial fountain, the central sight in the square before the First World War monument was erected in 1921. The fountain was built in 1890 in memory of Sir William De Capell Brooke of Brooke House in recognition of his philanthropy. It was used for both animal and human refreshment and originally had three gaslights surmounted on it. In 1937 it was moved to Church Square and finally removed from Harborough in 1955.
