Clare Market is a historic area in central

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

located within the parish of St Clement Danes to the west of Lincoln's Inn Fields, between the Strand and Drury Lane, with Vere Street adjoining its western side. It was named after the food market which had been established in Clement's Inn Fields, by

John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare (13 June 1595 – 2 January 1666) was an English nobleman. Family Holles was born in Haughton, Nottinghamshire, the eldest son of John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare and Anne Stanhope, and the brother of Denzil Holles, ...

. Much of the area and its landmarks were immortalised by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

in '' The Old Curiosity Shop'', ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

'', '' Barnaby Rudge'' and '' Sketches by Boz''. The historic district includes large parts of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

(LSE) and several academic buildings on the site bear the area's name. The name of the area is also commemorated in the name of the oldest student journal in the UK, the '' Clare Market Review'', which is published by the LSE. The former Director of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

, Ralf Dahrendorf, Lord Dahrendorf, chose the official title "Baron Dahrendorf, of Clare Market in the City of Westminster" when he was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

in 1993.

History

Clare Market was originally centred on a small market building constructed by Lord Clare in 1657, but the retail area spread through a maze of narrow interconnecting streets lined by butchers' shops and greengrocers. Butchers would slaughter sheep and cattle for sale. An area was set aside for Jews to slaughter kosher meat. The area was not affected by the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past th ...

, and the decrepit

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personif ...

buildings survived until the area, by then a slum, was redeveloped by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

in around 1905 to create the Aldwych and Kingsway. The market mostly sold meat, although fish and vegetables were also sold. An early theatre was in Gibbon's Tennis Court, in the Clare Market area. A club of artists, including

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-lik ...

, met at the Bull's Head Tavern in the market.

London School of Economics

Parts of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

now occupy the site, and the name of the area is commemorated in an academic journal published by the university, titled '' Clare Market Review'', which has evolved into an academic journal for the social sciences. One former Director of the LSE, Ralf Dahrendorf, chose the official title "Baron Dahrendorf of Clare Market" when he was made a

in 1993. This tradition of honouring Clare Market has stuck and become popular over time with LSE alumni. One of the main buildings at the centre of the LSE Campus was called the Clare Market Building, reflecting the school's links to the historic district. However the building was demolished in 2015, replaced by the Centre Building which opened in June 2019. The

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circui ...

and King's College London are also located near the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

References

External links

Victorian London

The Strand (northern tributaries): Drury Lane and Clare Market
, ''Old and New London: Volume 3'' (1878), pp. 36–44 {{London School of Economics Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Retail markets in London London School of Economics

History

London School of Economics

See also

References

External links