Old Spitalfields Market is a covered

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

, 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 administered by the City of London Corporation. The market is Europe's leading horticultural ma ...

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 Ri ...

, 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. 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 boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

, just outside the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. The closest

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

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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, 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 Campbell 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 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 ...

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. The Cinema Museum in London holds extensive film of the market and its refrigeration systems in use between 1928 and 1930. 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 and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the desig ...

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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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. Operationally, the area is run as two adjacent marketplaces: ''Old Spitalfields Market'' to the east, and the 1926 extension of ''Spitalfields Market'' to the west. 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 Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

-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 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 ...

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 ( – 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 principal architects ...

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 WebsiteSpitalfields 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