Colin Hinton's 60 years at Salisbury Charter Market

The friendly market trader has been selling produce from Salisbury Charter Market for more than 60 years and on Tuesday, market day, he celebrated his 75th birthday doing what he enjoys the most - serving customers from the Pritchetts Butchers stall.

The father-of-four, Salisbury born and bred, started working at the market for Mick Gill of the Quick Turnover grocers when he was just 12.

“One of the governors was going out with my sister and they said would I come and give them a hand as a little boy, only putting stuff on the back of the lorry,” he recalled.

Over time, Colin started serving and ended up working for the greengrocers who came to Salisbury just before the Second World War for 50 years.

They would set off in the early hours of the morning to purchase stock from “old” Covent Garden market and return to sell to Salisbury residents that same day.

Colin at Quick Turnover

After Mr Gill retired, Colin was approached by Mark Aldridge who asked him to run the Pritchetts Butchers stall at the market every Tuesday and Saturday.

“I think I’ve been here six years. [Mark] is a lovely chap to work for and it’s a family affair,” he said.

Over the years, Colin never once thought about getting a new job, adding: “I’m happy here, if you’re happy, stay where you are.”

The best part of being a market trader, he says, is being in contact with members of the public, many of whom have become his friends and regularly stop him for a chat.

“Working here you meet lovely people, some of the customers are characters as well.

“I used to know almost everybody in Salisbury, I could walk down the road a few years ago and I’d be talking to people all the time.”

The secret for being good a stall worker, well-loved by the community, is having good manners, he reckons.

“Be polite, it don’t cost nothing.”

And as well as being polite, Colin is well-known for being the smartest man on the market – always wearing a suit and tie.

It’s a habit that goes back years.

“When I was on Quick Turnover I used to suit and boot up. Sometimes, when I wasn’t married, I used to go to the nightclub and come from the nightclub straight to work and then work all day on the stall so I was already in a suit.”

Going forward, the cheerful market trader, who lives at Hardy House on Rectory Road, says he’s happy to continue working “as long as I’m fit and healthy”.

“Just serving keeps your mind active, I could sit at home and do nothing but that’s not me,” he added.

On his 75th birthday, Colin spent the morning working at the stall where some stopped by to wish him happy birthday.

Among them were Mayor of Salisbury, Cllr John Walsh and leader of Salisbury City Council, Cllr Jeremy Nettle, who said: “I would like to thank Mr Hinton for his contribution and loyalty over the many years and helping to make our Charter Market unique. I wish him a very happy 75th birthday.”