One day in late January 2009 I had to go into Axminster, and walking past this building I noticed the signs saying it was earmarked for demolition. Previously used as an indoor market for greengroceries, kitchen hardware and gardening products, the pavement outside used to be stacked with flowers and plants for sale. I was hoping to buy some flowers as I had an errand nearby, but was disappointed...so I took some photos instead. :)
It wasn't until later that I discovered it was originally Webster's Garage before its market days - from a local newspaper article decrying it as an eyesore. Someone also told me that it had been shut down due to an arson attack about a year before. A local artist put forward the idea of producing a mural depicting Axminster and its history in order to disguise it a bit, which he subsequently produced. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to return to Axminster since then, so I don't have any photos.
Small shops were situated either side of the main building. These too had been closed ready for demolition. I was told that a taxi company, Males Taxis, used one of the shops until about ten years before the market was closed, and I also get the vague feeling that one of them was once a watchmender's as I recall seeing watches in the window.
The photos below were taken from the car park which abuts the side of the building. The glass roof had mostly gone at this time, leaving only the skeletal metal beams.
The building was eventually completely removed. The idea was to use the land as a temporary car park, during which time the yearly carnival funfair was also to be held on the site. I'm not sure if anything else has been done with it; plans to use it to create a possible shopping centre backfired, as government funding for high street regeneration was denied. This was as late as last year. However, having seen photos of it since being cleared it really is a lot bigger than I realised, so there may yet be possibilities for something interesting to be built there.
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