Tributes paid to ‘brilliant’, ‘hard-working’ and ‘easy-going’ veteran market trader in Northampton town centre who has sadly died

Les Brannan, of LJB Rutherfords key-cutting service, sadly died last week while away on holiday, according to fellow market traders.

Les, who was in his late 50s, a father of two, and had recently become a grandad, had been working on Northampton’s Market Square for around 40 years.

He was, at one point, the only market trader left when traders were forced to move to Commercial Street car park, a mile away, due to a £15 million redevelopment of the Market Square. He was there whatever the weather, until moving back to his new heated pod on the square in September 2024.

His fellow market traders, who all laid bouquets of flowers at his cabin on the square over the weekend, have paid tribute to him to this newspaper this week.

Close friend John Greatrix, owner of Café Continental, said: “It’s heartbreaking. It’s awful.

“He’s going to be very sadly missed on the market. He was a stalwart and a proper character of the market. He’ll be missed by my family, myself, and all the other traders.

“We’ve known each other for 30-odd years, but we got really close over the last three or four years down at Commercial Street car park, facing one another. We had laughs and jokes, that’s what kept us going. He was resilient. Me and Les were the first ones down and the last ones there, through thick and thin.

“He was a nice, easy-going, fun-loving guy. Always positive, never really down.

“He was over the moon when he got his pod on the refurbished Market Square. He said it would make life so much easier and he could finally enjoy life more.

“It was his first holiday in about 20 years. Then he’s gone and had a massive heart attack. So sad.

“He’d just become a grandad and he was so proud, always showing us pictures of his grandson.

“He’ll be sorely missed by all of us at Café Continental.”

Staff at Tony Jones’ Florists in the Grosvenor Centre said: “It’s really sad. We’re thinking of his family. He was a really devoted market trader, done it all his life. Such sad news. He’ll be really missed by us all.”

Rachel Cooper, owner at the Artisan Deli on the Market Square, said: “I first met Les in Wellingborough, about 40 years ago, back in the 80s. We were both working on the market.

“After that we lost touch because I moved away, but when I came back here we re-established the friendship. He was such a lovely guy. He’d help anybody.

“There was a lady who couldn’t understand the forms, and he sat there for hours filling them in with her.

“When we heard the news, we were shocked, numb, dumbfounded. We couldn’t believe it. We’re all still in shock.

“People keep coming into the pods asking, ‘Where’s Les?’ or ‘I need a new watch battery.’ That was his pride and joy.

“He’d been on the market 40 years. It was tough when they moved to Commercial Street, but he rode it out. Then he got his brand-new pod and he was so proud of it, his own little shop after years of standing out in the cold.

“He was really happy. He’d just become a grandad and he was over the moon. The market was his life. It really was.

“He was a mainstay. A lot of customers had been going to him for years. He could never do enough and always went the extra mile.

“With Doreen and Silvia, who worked for him, he was such a good boss. One of them’s been with him over 20 years, which says everything. Good bloke. Good boss. He’ll be sorely missed. It won’t be the same without him.”

Steve Reid, who runs the butchers on the Market Square, said: “You couldn’t ask for a nicer kind of guy. He’d always try to help everybody out.

“It’s still a shock. We’ve got bottles of ‘Château de Les’ at home. He liked making his own wine. He brought them to me and said, ‘Give me your honest opinion.’ It wasn’t bad.

“It’s such a shame. He was on holiday, really looking forward to it. He’d only been there four or five days and then had a massive heart attack.

“His stall’s been here 40-plus years. That’s a big loss to the market and to the business.

“He was just a very nice person. In the 18 months or so we’ve known him here, he never had a bad word to say about anyone. He always saw the good in people. It’s such a shame.”

Hung Vu, who runs a fruit and vegetable stall, said: “I’ve known him for 30 or 40 years. He was brilliant. He was absolutely brilliant. Hard-working, nice guy.

“When we first heard it, we were shocked, honestly shocked.”

Dennis, who runs Canvas Prints Northampton on the square, said: “I’ve only been on the market about five years now, but he was one of the guys, legit guys I would say, helping me from day one.

“I had some issues with the tables, getting some basic morning things sorted, and he was there from day one helping me. Before the move to Commercial Street, I was always visiting him, checking how he was doing, because he was a really good guy.

“When we moved, me and Les, literally this side of the market trio, were always around, always trying to help each other. And then, yeah, very unexpected, very surprising, and obviously very, very sad.

“He was hard-working, definitely. Last year he did seven days a week just to come back from the Commercial Street side of the business. He had to get back on track, so all last year he was doing that, seven days a week.

“Then finally his first holiday after a long time of work, and yeah. It’s very sad. He’ll be missed.”

Reform councillor James Petter, in charge of the Market Square at West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of such a well-known and long-standing trader on Northampton Market.

“I’ve come to know Les quite well in the months since I took office and appreciated the very warm welcome he extended every time we met. He was very much part of the fabric of our local market community, and he’ll be sorely missed.

“On behalf of WNC, I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.”

Les previously told this newspaper his dream was to one day retire in France and own his own small vineyard. Rest in peace, Les.