Old Spitalfields Market Panorama, London, UK - Diliff

Old Spitalfields Market is a covered market in

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

, London. There has been a market on the site for over 350 years. In 1991 it gave its name to

New Spitalfields Market New Spitalfields Market is a fruit and vegetable market on a site in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest in East London. The market is owned and administrated by the City of London Corporation. The market is Europe's leading horticultural m ...

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River Lea ...

, where fruit and vegetables are now traded. In 2005, a regeneration programme resulted in the new public spaces: Bishops Square and Crispin Place, which are now part of the modern

Spitalfields Market Spitalfields Market is a traders' market as well as a food and art market located in Spitalfields, Central London. Traders began operating around 1666, after the Great Fire of London, where the market stands today. The Spitalfields regeneration prog ...

. A range of public markets runs daily, with independent local stores and restaurants - as well as new office developments. It is situated in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originall ...

, just outside the City of London. The closest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Un ...

and mainline railway station is Liverpool Street.

Historic market

There has been a market on the site since 1638 when King Charles I gave a licence for flesh, fowl and roots to be sold on Spittle Fields, which was then a rural area on the eastern outskirts of London. After the rights to a market had seemingly lapsed during the time of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, the market was re-founded in 1682 by King Charles II in order to feed the burgeoning population of a new suburb of London. Market buildings were sited on the rectangular patch of open ground which retained the name Spittle Fields: demarcated by Crispin Street to the west, Lamb Street to the north, Red Lion Street (later subsumed into Commercial Street) to the east and Paternoster Row (later known as Brushfield Street) to the south. The existing buildings were constructed between 1885 and 1893 to the designs of George Sherrin. They were commissioned by Robert Horner, the last private owner of the market, and remain known as the Horner Buildings. The market was acquired by the City of London Corporation in 1920, to serve as a wholesale market. It was extended westward to Steward Street in 1926, destroying the northern extensions of Crispin Street and Gun Street in the process. In 1991 the wholesale fruit and vegetable market moved to

, Leyton, and the original site became known as Spitalfields Market. The market stalls were redesigned by architects

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide. ...

for Old Spitalfields Market in October 2017.

Modern market

Being at the centre of a revival in the area, the eastern end of Spitalfields retained its old charm in Horner Square and Horner Buildings, which are Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s. The Victorian buildings and the market hall and roof have been restored and Spitalfields is now one of London's major markets. The market square is a popular fashion, arts and crafts, food and general market, open seven days a week, but is particularly busy at weekends. In the late 20th century, there was a dispute between the owners, the City of London Corporation and local residents about the redevelopment of the 1926 market extension at the western end. The Corporation won, and now a

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

-designed office block surrounds the western side of the site, after two-thirds of the historic market were rebuilt to include restaurants, shops and a large indoor arts and crafts market, called the Traders' Market. The Gun, a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

situated to the south of the market buildings, recalls Tudor times, when the Old Artillery Ground in this area was used by the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

to practice with cross-bow, and later guns and artillery pieces. At the east end, and on the other side of Commercial Street, is Christ Church, a large

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

church. In January 2011 Spitalfields received the "Best Private Market" award by the National Association of British Market Authorities. Old Spitalfields Market currently hosts a vintage market each Thursday, a vinyl fair some Fridays and a general arts and craft market throughout the week continuing through to the weekend.

Notes

References

The East London History Society: Spitalfields history (Part 2)

External links

Old Spitalfields Market - Official WebsiteOld Spitalfields Market - English Heritage Listed Building details
{{London Markets Commercial buildings completed in 1887 Retail markets in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Spitalfields Commercial Street, London

Historic market

Modern market

See also

Notes

References

External links