Exmouth Market is a semi- pedestrianised street in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

in 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 ...

, and the location of an outdoor street market of 32 stalls.

History

Exmouth Market draws its name from the Exmouth Arms Pub that is centrally situated in the street. The area has been a market place since the 1890s and a number of the street's buildings date from the 19th century. Also centrally located on the block of the street opposite the Exmouth Arms is the church of Our Most Holy Redeemer, Clerkenwell, built in 1887 on the site of the Spa Fields Chapel. The church is London's only Italian

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

-style church. The south-east corner of the street was the site for the London Spa which dates back to 1730 and is one of Clerkenwell's most famous resorts. It was rebuilt several times and called the London Spa until 2002. It is now known as Spa Fields.

1990s: Rehabilitation

The street and surrounding area had previously held a reputation as a run down and seedy part of Central London. Since the mid-to-late nineties the street has undergone a steady regeneration, and Exmouth Market is now home to a large number of restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as independent book, record and gift shops, a range of design and architecture companies, and Eland Publishing, the travel literature imprint. A distinguishing feature of the area is that nearly every restaurant, cafe and bar in the street offer outside seating and cover, which is uncommon for suburban London outside of High Street areas – this creates a

sidewalk cafe A sidewalk café or pavement café is "a portion of an eating or drinking place, located on a public sidewalk, that provides waiter or waitress service" (as defined by the American Planning Association based upon the New York City planning regul ...

ambiance.

Street market

In autumn 2006, the Exmouth Market Trader's association decided to reinstate Exmouth Market's

street market A street market or open-air market, with alternative names such as: market square and sometimes charity market, in cases where the sale is made for charity reasons, is a market that is set up on certain days of the week, generally on the street i ...

. It costs £35 a week to occupy land the size of a regular stall. Stallholders include local and well-known food companies and producers, as well as jewellery and gifts from East London designers. The market was originally held every Friday (between 11–6) and Saturday (between 9–4) (as indicated on a banner), but hours have changed, and it now runs during weekdays only (including Thursday and Friday): food stalls run primarily 11–2.

Film

The street was used for location shooting for Madonna's directorial debut, ''

Filth and Wisdom ''Filth and Wisdom'' is a 2008 British comedy-drama film directed by Madonna (in her directorial debut), starring Eugene Hütz, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure and Richard E. Grant. It was filmed on location in London, England, from 14 to 29 May ...

'' and also for ''

A Private Function ''A Private Function'' is a 1984 British comedy film starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding in West Yorkshire. The film was also screened in the section of Un Certain Regard at the ...

''.

References

External links

Exmouth Market Official Website
{{Markets in London Retail markets in London Streets in the London Borough of Islington Clerkenwell