The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

) was built by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

and was opened in June 1855 by

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

. The market was supplementary to the meat market at Smithfield and was established to remove the difficulty of managing live cattle at that latter site.

History

The market was designed by the corporation's architect,

James Bunstone Bunning James Bunstone Bunning (6 October 1802 – 2 November 1863) was an English architect. He held the post of architect to the City of London from 1843 until his death, and is probably best remembered for his design for the Coal Exchange. Life ...

. He had previously drawn up plans to rebuild the cattle market at Smithfield, before the Corporation decided to remove the trade in live animals to a site outside the City itself. The market originally covered of the site and grounds of Copenhagen House, so named as the location of the Ambassador of Denmark's residence in the 17th century. Prior to being redeveloped these grounds housed a pleasure resort and

tea garden A tea garden is an outdoor space where tea and light refreshments are served, or any garden with which the drinking of tea is associated. Especially in India, it is also a common term for a tea plantation. The tea garden was a part of early Eng ...

. It occupied most of the land between Hungerford Road and Hartham Road (north), Caledonian Road (east), Brandon Road and Blundell Street (south) and York Way (west) and its construction cost the Corporation £300,000. Market Road, North Road, Shearling Way and Brewery Road were internal roads within the market area. The site was chosen for its proximity to the

goods yard A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

s of the newly opened Great Northern Railway and

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the Port of London further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disus ...

to the north of King's Cross station. Livestock could be conveniently transported to the depots before being driven the short distance up York Way to the market or walked down from Holloway cattle dock and Junction Road railway station. On market days in excess of 15,000 animals could be traded. The central market area was arranged in a rectangle with stalls and pens for

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

s and a tall central clock tower, today the

Caledonian Park Clock Tower The Caledonian Park Clock Tower is located in Holloway and is the major remaining element of the Metropolitan Cattle Market, opened in 1855 by the City of London Corporation as a replacement for the market at Smithfield. The complex was designe ...

as the major remaining element of the market area, otherwise having been turned into the Caledonian Park. Dealers' offices were arranged in the central area and

slaughter house In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...

s were close by. The market was enclosed by cast iron railings, the columns of which were topped with cast iron heads of the animals traded. The railings remain but the heads were removed many years ago. At each of the corners of the main area, large market

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s provided accommodation and entertainment for those visiting the market. The pubs were named ''The Lion'', ''The Lamb'', ''The White Horse'' and ''The Black Bull''. Today, three of the four remain and, with the clock tower, are listed structures. A fifth pub, ''The Butchers Arms'', built to a similar design, was located at the south-west corner of the market site at the junction of York Way and Brewery Road. The building remains. In the early 20th century, as the trade in live animals diminished, a bric-a-brac market developed, which after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

transferred south of the Thames to become the New Caledonian or Bermondsey Market. The markets in the area of the old Metropolitan Cattle Market finally closed in 1963.

Redevelopment

The northern part of the main market site was redeveloped by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(GLC) as the ''

Market Estate Market Estate is a public housing estate consisting of 271 apartment, flats and Apartment#Maisonette, maisonettes situated to the north of Caledonian Park in the London Borough of Islington. It is named after the Metropolitan Cattle Market which ...

'' and completed in 1967 to a design by architects Farber & Bartholomew. On the western area where sheep were kept, the Corporation built the ''York Way Estate'' to designs by McMorran & Whitby and completed in 1969. The southern area of the market, south of Market Road, where the cattle were kept and where the slaughter houses were is now sports pitches. The rest forms Caledonian Park. At the break-up of the GLC,

was transferred to the control of the local authority,

. After years of poor maintenance and declining social conditions, the estate was transferred to a registered social landlord, Southern Housing, in 2005. The estate was regenerated, with the original blocks being demolished and replaced with a new layout of streets. The project was completed in 2012 by architects HTA and contractors, Higgins Construction.

References

External links

Friends of Caledonian Park

Museum of London Picture Library

Caledonian Cattle Market, early 20th century

Carpet stall, 1930
{{London markets Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington Wholesale markets in London Former parks and open spaces of London

History

Redevelopment

See also

References

External links