Dens Road Market came to life amidst the hustle and bustle of over 100 stalls during the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s.
Who could forget the sights, sounds and smells of Dundee’s own Petticoat Lane?
It was filled to the brim with traders.
The once-bustling indoor market was part of the city’s folklore before a spiral of decline resulted in a falling number of stalls and the final trader left in October 2013.
It was replaced with silence after 44 years.
A huge part of old Dundee died with it.
Its history can be traced as far back as 1870 when the market was sited in Shore Terrace before moving to Craig Street which was near the Tay Ferries pier.
This site proved highly profitable and was not only popular with local people but also with the many different nationalities of people who came off the boats.
The area was demolished in the early 1960s as part of the Tay Road Bridge development and the market moved to the Caledonian Halls in Ure Street.
But they proved to be too small.
So the market moved again in 1969 into an old jute works in Dens Road where there were more than 80 stalls and shops when it was opened.
Dens Road Market in Dundee was a family affair
In 1971, the People’s Journal referred to it as a shopping “mecca” and back then it was full of characters with generations of the same families running the stalls.
It was attracting customers from as far afield as Aberdeen.
Little wonder.
Remember the Bedding Boutique and Bargain corner?
Easton’s Fruit Bazaar?
Everything Electrical?
Margaret’s Shoe Boutique?
Or maybe you got your wares from Anne’s Fashion Mart?
They say “don’t go shopping on an empty stomach” and there was also the opportunity to have something to eat in between bargain hunting.
And what better way to warm up than soup with unidentified pieces of meat floating in it from the café or wolfing down a “buster” over the boom of the bingo caller?
Expensive food isn’t always the definition of luxury.
The “buster” — mushy peas and chips, smothered in vinegar — was sold in small foam trays and were so called because of its flatulence-producing properties.
Afterwards you wouldn’t want for anything.
It was being described in 1981 as “Scotland’s finest indoor market” with “something for everyone” including “the golden age”, “the younger ones” and “the trendy set”.
There were plenty of bargains to be had amongst the stalls and you could always finish your shopping trip with a game of prize bingo — or have your hair cut.
Where else could you find meat, veg and fruit, antiques, garden tools, oil paintings, jewellery and the “finest selection of lace and net curtains” all under one roof?
Not forgetting a variety of stalls selling the likes of books, bric-a-brac, china, clocks, clothes, coins, crystal and glassware, etchings, military regalia, postcards and records.
“Beautiful hand-knitted garments” could also be made to order during your shop and there was a large selection of “second-hand modern furniture at unbeatable prices”.
There were also home-made cake and candy stalls.
It was jam-packed with variety — unlike the sterile supermarket model.
Opening times at the famous mall were Tuesday from 9.30am to 2pm, Friday from 9.30am to 5pm, Saturday 9.30am to 5pm and Sunday from 10.30am to 4.30pm.
But by the early 1980s, with the Wellgate Centre and its Market Hall now gaining popularity, the Dens Road institution began to suffer stiff competition.
It was still going strong in 1989.
The Courier described it as “Dundee’s finest indoor market” with “bargains galore for everyone” and highlighted the “buster stall” as being “Dundee’s favourite”.
Nothing lasts forever
Trading numbers steadily fell and, as shopkeepers became older, the variety of stalls began to fall in the 1990s.
Things got worse on September 12 1996.
Dens Road Market was almost wiped out when a deliberate blaze broke out around 8pm in the ground-floor area which was stocked with second-hand furniture.
It could have been disastrous had it not been for the building’s sprinkler system.
The market was threatened with closure by the licensing committee in September 1998 because the building was suffering from structural defects including a leaking roof.
The market’s operator, Joe Carroll, was given three months to bring the 1855 building up to scratch and prevent “further deterioration in the interests of public safety”.
Mr Carroll said a maintenance man employed by the market for 27 years had recently died and “some repair work may have slipped as a result over the last six months”.
The building was patched up and trading continued.
An Evening Telegraph advertising feature to mark its 30th anniversary in 1999 suggested Dens Road Market was “still just as popular” as in its heyday.
Still gems to be found
Talk began to shift to a complete transformation in the new millennium.
In 2005 Mr Carroll applied to knock down the building and build 31 three-bedroom townhouses and a dozen two-bedroom flats on the site of the market.
The news went down as badly with traders as being served up a cold buster.
Mr Carroll said there was no one in his family to take over the business if he stepped down and stressed the market was suffering because of competition from car boot sales.
There were still gems to be found at the remaining stalls.
Dundee’s Robbie Kenneth enjoyed a winter holiday in the sun after purchasing a china dog with a bandaged paw because it reminded him of his faithful pet of 20 years.
He paid £2.50 for the poorly pooch which he called Sparky.
Robbie took Sparky to the BBC Antiques Roadshow in 2006 where one of the experts said it was worth at least £700 as it was a rare Royal Doulton piece.
Sparky found a new home and Robbie hit the beach!
Would the traders also be heading for pastures new?
City company MRK1 purchased the Dens Road Market building in 2008 but a legal battle ensued over the £1.5m price-tag which was eventually settled in 2011.
Dens Road Market was now in its death throes
There were eerie scenes as one by one the stalls and shops were closing.
Things took a further twist when owners MRK1 went into administration in late 2012.
The final trader left in October 2013 and decided to move instead to the busier Hilltown Market which was operating from the former Norco Supermarket in Main Street.
Marilyn Forbes said: “I just did not see a future at the Dens Road Market.
“We had problems with the roof, especially leaks and other stuff like that.
“I was the last trader there — other people left because of ill health and age.
“It just wasn’t working anymore.
“But I have no regrets about leaving — it really is a new chapter for us.”
A chapter which had an unhappy ending in September 2018 when the Hilltown Indoor Market and adjoining Fit4Less gym were wiped off the map in a ferocious blaze.
As for Dens Road Market?
Plans to convert the abandoned market into an activity centre with a bowling alley, trampolines, slides, mini golf and a café were scrapped.
Part of the roof collapsed in 2022.
The building has since been hit by fires and vandalism.
It’s a world away from the good old days when Dundee’s own Petticoat Lane was a modern-day Aladdin’s Cave which brought visitors from far and wide.
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