Chrisp Street Market is the central

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

and

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...

of Poplar and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was the first purpose-built pedestrian shopping area in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, rebuilt as part of the 1951

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

and is directly connected onto the

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

East India Dock Road East India Dock Road is a major arterial route from Limehouse to Canning Town in London. The road takes its name from the former East India Docks in the Port of London, and partly serves as the high street of Poplar. To the west it becomes Co ...

. It features a prominent clock tower, shops, small retail outlets, pubs, cafes, flats, and 80 market stalls.

History

Chrisp Street Market was designed by

Frederick Gibberd Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd (7 January 1908 – 9 January 1984) was an English architect, town planner and landscape designer. He is particularly known for his work in Harlow, Essex, and for the BISF house, a design for a prefabricated council ...

, and built as part of the

in 1951. Since 1997 it has been in a conservation area. In the 1990s, the

London Docklands Development Corporation The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an a ...

contributed £1.3 million to refurbishment of the market area. In the early 2000s, Chrisp St Library was closed and replaced with a larger 'Idea Store' designed by

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect. He is known for having designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D. ...

, a place for lifelong learning with computers and rooms for community use. The

Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, cur ...

transferred ownership of the shopping arcades along with the rest of the

Lansbury Estate The Lansbury Estate is a large, historic council housing estate in Poplar and Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is named after George Lansbury, a Poplar councillor and Labour Party MP. History Lansbury Estate is one ...

Poplar HARCA Poplar HARCA (Housing and Regeneration Community Association) is a housing association in the East End of London, England. It is the landlord of about 9,000 homes in the East London area, a quarter of which have been sold leasehold; the remainde ...

, a locally based

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...

, in 2006. This association commissioned architects to draw up a master plan for the market. , the commercial properties are managed by Capital Properties (UK) Ltd, while the market stalls remain under the management of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The market was the main focus point and filming location of ''E14: A Dying Trade'', a short documentary filmed in 2011.

Chrisp Street On Air

From November 2013 to April 2014, Chrisp Street Market was host to a project entitled 'Chrisp Street On Air' - a pilot exercise in rejuvenating London markets. The project, conceived by multidisciplinary design firm The Decorators, began with a radio station set up within the market and available online. The radio station invited locals to explore the market's history, character, and future. The radio component also informed a further programme of events in conjunction with local organisations, such as a boxing exhibition with the Lansbury Amateur Boxing Club. The project also incorporated new market furniture for eating, along with stalls to facilitate the events. Poplar HARCA, the owner of the market, used recommendations based on the project to apply to the Greater London Authority for a new round of funding.

Dining

East End of London favourites such as

pie and mash Pie and mash is a traditional working-class food, originating in the Docks of London. It typically consists of a minced beef pie, mashed potato and a parsley sauce known as liquor. Pie, mash and eel shops have been in London since the 19th centu ...

are available alongside

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

and

Indian food Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, her ...

outlets. Chrisp St Market also hosts "Bite", a monthly street food market taking place on the last Friday of each month.Bite Street Food
, Chrisp St Market, April 2015

Transport

Trains

The market is served by All Saints and

Langdon Park Langdon Park may refer to: * Langdon, Washington, D.C., an area of Washington, D.C. in the United States *Langdon Park DLR station, a Docklands Light Railway station in Poplar, London, United Kingdom *Langdon Park School Langdon Park School is a ...

DLR stations.

Buses

London Buses Routes 15, 108, 115, D6, 309, D8 and Night Route N15 serve the market.

References

External links

Chrisp Street Market – street trading area, events and planned improvements

Chrisp Street Market – shops and community facilities nearby
{{London markets Retail markets in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Streets in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Poplar, London District centres of London