But in many cases it’s been decades since they were last held, with Thrapston’s regular livestock auctions all that remains in the north of the county.
Kettering Cattle Market took place in London Road from 1880 until it moved to a purpose-built site in Northfield Avenue in 1965. It closed for the last time in 1992.
In Wellingborough, a market was built in 1905 on the site of what is now the Castle Theatre, where it continued to operate until the 1960s.
2. Retro: Cattle markets
Kettering Cattle Market, possibly 1950s Photo: Northants Telegraph
3. Retro: Cattle markets
An aerial photo of Kettering including the cattle market, probably in the mid-1960s Photo: Northants Telegraph
4. Retro: Cattle markets
Wellingborough in 1910, looking at London Road cemetery from the old cattle market site, now the Castle Theatre Photo: Northants Telegraph