Description:In the second episode of the Pageant, The Granting of the Market Charter of Birmingham, 1156, ‘the authentic history of Birmingham begins’. The Market Charter, which was granted by Gervase Paganel, Lord of Dudley, to Peter de Bermingham, Steward of Dudley and Lord of the Manor of Birmingham in 1156, confirmed a market which was held on every Thursday from that date. Wagons laden with produce filled the arena; Lally remarked that ‘larger-than-life cheese, gingerbreads, barons of beef and other food properties figured in the medieval market’.