Romsey Makers Christmas Market is in the town centre on Sunday 13 December, 10am to 3pm. Before it: a charities fair, Hillier's Artful weekend, the Abbey fair.

Romsey’s big Christmas market is the Romsey Makers Christmas Market on Sunday 13 December 2026, 10am to 3pm, in the town centre. It is run by South Central Makers, the group behind the monthly makers market, and it is the one Christmas edition of the year. Before it come a string of smaller fairs, starting with switch-on day on 21 November.

The quick answer

  • The main one: Romsey Makers Christmas Market, Sunday 13 December, 10am to 3pm, town centre. Free to browse, and parking is free all day on Sundays.
  • Switch-on day, Saturday 21 November: a charities Christmas fair at Crosfield Hall (10am to 2.30pm), then a market and entertainment in the streets from 3pm, with the lights on at 5pm.
  • Hillier Gardens, 21 and 22 November: the Artful Christmas Weekend, 10am to 4pm, free entry to the market but garden charges apply.
  • Romsey Abbey Christmas Fair, Saturday 28 November, 10am to 2pm: £1, children free, with Father Christmas.
  • Romsey Country Market at the Town Hall on 4, 11 and 18 December, 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Every confirmed date

Date Market Where Times Entry
Sat 21 Nov Romsey Joint Charities Christmas Fair Crosfield Hall 10am to 2.30pm Not stated
Sat 21 Nov Christmas lights switch-on market The Hundred, Church Place, Cornmarket, Market Place 3pm to 7pm Free
Sat 21 and Sun 22 Nov Artful Christmas Weekend Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, SO51 0QA 10am to 4pm Market free, garden charges apply
Sat 28 Nov Christmas Fair in Romsey Abbey Romsey Abbey 10am to 2pm £1, children free
Fri 4, 11 and 18 Dec Romsey Country Market Romsey Town Hall 10.30am to 12.30pm Not stated
Sun 6 Dec Romsey Antiques and Vintage Market Town Hall, The Hundred, the Piazza, Cornmarket Not stated Not stated
Sun 13 Dec Romsey Makers Christmas Market Town centre 10am to 3pm Free to browse

Romsey Makers Christmas Market, Sunday 13 December

South Central Makers’ own calendar lists Romsey Town Centre on 13 December, and its poster, shared on Romsey Town Council’s Christmas in Romsey page, gives 10am to 3pm with “artisan gifts, bakes, hot food, music and festive cheer”. The group says its Romsey market is an outdoor one, held on the Palmerston Market Place and the Cornmarket, with “a special once a year Christmas Market”.

The makers market also has a Romsey date on Saturday 21 November, the day of the lights switch-on, on the same calendar. Its regular market is on the first Sunday of the month, so the next one before Christmas is Sunday 1 November.

Switch-on day, Saturday 21 November

Three things happen on the same Saturday.

  • Romsey Joint Charities Christmas Fair, 10am to 2.30pm at Crosfield Hall, Broadwater Road. The poster promises handcrafted and new gifts, music, refreshments, raffles and tombolas, and a meet and greet with Santa. It is sponsored by Test Valley Borough Council and Romsey Town Council, and the charities behind it range from the RNLI to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
  • The Christmas lights switch-on, 3pm to 7pm, with a market and entertainment across The Hundred, Church Place, the Cornmarket and Market Place and the lights on at 5pm. Details on our Romsey Christmas lights page.
  • Artful Christmas Weekend at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, below.

Artful Christmas Weekend, Hillier Gardens, 21 and 22 November

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, at Ampfield just outside Romsey, lists its Artful Christmas Weekend for Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, 10am to 4pm: ceramics, jewellery, fine art, printmaking, textiles, glass, sculpture and woodwork from local makers, free family craft activities and live music. Entry to the market is free, but the usual charges to enter the gardens apply. No ticket is needed. The gardens are on Jermyns Lane, SO51 0QA.

The gardens’ evening light trail starts five days later, on 26 November: see our Hillier Gardens light trail page.

Christmas Fair in Romsey Abbey, Saturday 28 November

Romsey Abbey’s poster gives Saturday 28 November, 10am to 2pm, with a visit to Father Christmas, “lots of stalls” and coffee, lunches and mulled wine. Entry is £1, children free, and all proceeds go to the Abbey. The same evening the Romsey Winter Carnival and Lantern Parade sets off at 6pm, so you can make a day of it.

December at the Town Hall and in the streets

  • Romsey Country Market, a co-operative market where “everything is home produced”, has Christmas posters for Friday 4, 11 and 18 December, 10.30am to 12.30pm at Romsey Town Hall, with a community cafe.
  • Romsey Antiques and Vintage Market is listed by Test Valley Borough Council for Sunday 6 December across the Town Hall, The Hundred, the Piazza and the Cornmarket. The council gives no times.

Getting there and parking

Test Valley Borough Council’s eight Romsey car parks are free after 4pm every day and free all day on Sundays, so the 13 December market and the 6 December antiques market cost nothing to park for. On a Saturday you pay until 4pm. Crosfield Hall has its own council car park next to the hall.

Romsey station is a short walk from the Market Place. For closures across the district see our roadworks and travel page; for Andover’s car parks see parking in Andover.

Andover’s markets

Andover’s own Christmas markets, including the Hawk Conservancy Trust’s four-day market from 26 November, are on our Andover Christmas markets page.

What is still to come

  • Road closures for switch-on day and the 13 December market, which Romsey Town Council posts on its road closures page.
  • Times for the Antiques and Vintage Market on 6 December.

Everything on this page was checked against the organisers’ and councils’ own published material on 13 October 2026. Dates and times can change; check with the organiser before you travel.

Sources