Scarborough Market Hall · Since 1919
Scarborough’s oldest butcher — a family counter in the Market Hall since 1919. Locally sourced meat and poultry, cut to order and served properly, over the glass.
01 The Counter
M. Nockels has traded from the same spot in Scarborough Market Hall for over a hundred years — the longest‑serving business in the hall, and the longest‑established butcher in town.
Mark Nockels and the team cut locally sourced beef, pork, lamb and poultry fresh each day, and they’ll tell you straight what’s good this week and what to do with it.
02 The Story
Before the First World War this corner of the hall was a Mr Armstrong’s butcher’s, and a young Mark Nockels worked it for him. Both men went to the war. Mark came home, and in 1919 he bought the business.
He ran the counter into the 1960s, then handed it to his son Bill, who ran it until 1992. Bill’s son — another Mark — had worked beside his father before going to Leeds to study meat science, and came straight back to the counter. He has run it ever since: three generations, one corner of the hall, and the same conversation about what you’re cooking on Sunday.
The fascia above the counter is the original painted sign, and the standards are still the ones it was painted for.
03 In the Papers
A hundred years at one counter gets you noticed now and again. A few of the times it has.
BBC Two · The Hairy Bikers Go North
In September 2020 the Hairy Bikers rode into Scarborough to film their BBC Two series, and stopped at the Market Hall to fill their panniers for the week’s cooking. Si King and Dave Myers were served at this counter, the same as anyone else. The Yorkshire Coast episode went out on 30 September 2021.
The Scarborough News (opens in a new tab)A photograph of the counter, Butchers Corner, was picked for Historic England’s Picturing High Streets collection — “reputedly the best butcher in Scarborough”, the photographer wrote.
Historic England (opens in a new tab)Listed by Scarborough Borough Council among the Market Hall traders keeping the town fed through lockdown — and named North Yorkshire’s top butcher of 2019.
The Scarborough News (opens in a new tab)The centenary made the paper, with the team of the day behind the glass. Asked how trade was, Mark said: “Touch wood, we’ve never been busier.”
The Scarborough News (opens in a new tab)The Market Hall marked the hundred years with the family’s own story — Mark, then Bill, then Mark again.
Scarborough Market Hall (opens in a new tab)04 On the Counter
Roasting joints, steaks and mince — cut while you wait.
Joints and chops, with bacon sliced to the thickness you ask for.
Legs, shoulders and chops, trimmed the traditional way.
Fresh poultry in daily — whole birds or prepared at the counter.
Butcher’s sausages — the staple the regulars come back for.
Planning something? Phone ahead and it’ll be ready at the counter.
No web shop, no couriers. Come to the counter or ring 01723 361208 — it’s worked for a century.
05 This Week
The specials board hangs where it always has and changes with what’s good. If it’s on the board, it’s worth having.
Specials
Prices where they’ve always been — in chalk, above the counter.
06 Wholesale
Hotels, restaurants, cafés and schools across the town are supplied from the same counter, with refrigerated delivery by arrangement. Ring and ask for Mark.
01723 36120807 Visit
Market Hall hours may vary on bank holidays.
Orders, availability & trade
01723Ring the counter — someone will answer between cuts.
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