Picture of the Day: At the heart of the Mart.

Established by Henry VIII in 1537 and disrupted only by the occasional outbreak of civil war, bubonic plague and covid, the King’s Lynn Mart is the UK’s oldest continuous fair and the first event in the Showmens calendar. Beginning on February 14th each year the Mart takes over the Tuesday Market Place for two weeks when its gaudy neon illuminates the town for miles around. During its heyday in the late 19th century the Mart was at the cutting edge of technology when agricultural engineer Frederick Savage converted some farm machinery into amusement rides and in 1897 it was the place where m…