The Covered Market on Earl Street is a Grade II-listed iron-and-glass structure built between 1870 and 1875 — a survival from Preston's Victorian heyday as a regional market town. The wrought-iron roof spans the whole interior in a single sweep, supported on slender cast columns; it was painstakingly restored in the 2010s.
Stalls inside cover the usual market mix: fruit and veg, butchers, fishmongers, second-hand books, cheap clothes. The market hall hosts pop-up food traders and small events at weekends. The neighbouring outdoor market on the same square runs Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.