Like its wholesale markets, London's off-street markets were affected by the growth of London and the dramatic increase in motorised vehicles. Seven London off-street markets are outlined here.
Old Spitalfields Market
Old Spitalfields originated as a 13th-century market operating on the edge of the City of London. This evolved into a fresh produce market.
The Corporation of London acquired direct control of Spitalfields Market in 1920. The original buildings, built in 1893, were extended in 1928.
Over the next 60 years, Spitalfields' growing reputation brought increased traffic congestion to the surrounding streets. With no room for expansion, the produce market relocated to Leyton as New Spitalfields Market in May 1991.
Old Spitalfields survived the 20th century, although redevelopment reduced the remaining site. It continues as a vibrant daily general market.
Queen's Market
Queen’s Market began in the 1880s as a small street market in Green Street. It serviced the thousands of new terraced houses that had been built nearby.
Tram tracks laid in 1904 forced the stalls to relocate to the corner of Green Street and Queen’s Road. The Green Street frontage was rebuilt in 1969 and Newham Council enclosed the site with a roof in 1979.
Queen’s Market is now a large covered square of over 100 stalls surrounded by shops. It is renowned for its vibrant mix of English, Asian, African and Caribbean influences.
Camden Market
Camden Market is a youth-focused complex near Camden Town. It began with the formation of the Camden Lock indoor craft market in 1974.
Six separate markets now make up Camden Market. Inverness Street is the oldest. Established around 1900 as a fruit and vegetable market, it is now a small traditional street market.
Stables Market, the largest of the six, sells clothes, furniture, and curios. The outdoor Camden Canal and Buck Street markets sell clothes, while the Electric Ballroom is an indoor weekend market.
Camden Market is now a leading London tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of people to the capital each day over the summer.
Caledonian Market
Smithfield's live cattle market moved to Islington in 1855. As the Metropolitan Cattle (later Caledonian) Market, it occupied a 30-acre site at Copenhagen Fields.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the cattle market dwindled as interest in antiques boomed. Caledonian developed into a vast second-hand market.
After the Second World War, Caledonian Market relocated south of the Thames. It became known as Bermondsey or New Caledonian Market.
The Islington site closed in 1963 and was cleared two yeas later. Its western and northern areas became the Market Housing Estate. The southern area is now a sports field, while the remaining land is Caledonian Park.
Bermondsey (New Caledonian) Market
Caledonian Market became Bermondsey (New Caledonian) Market when it relocated from Islington to Bermondsey in 1950. It is at Bermondsey Square on Tower Bridge Road.
The market's early opening hours reflect the ancient law of marché ouvert or 'open market'. Under this law, an item sold before sunrise could not have its history of ownership questioned.
As a result, stolen goods could be traded at Bermondsey Market with ease. The market gained an increasingly unsavoury reputation.
Marché ouvert was abolished only at the end of the 20th century. Some observers suggest that Bermondsey Market’s decline in trade over later years coincided with this event.
Brixton Market
Brixton Market was established outside the railway station on Atlantic Road during the 1870s. It ran the entire length of Electric Avenue.
It developed into a sprawling complex of indoor and street markets. These include Brixton Station Road, the large covered Granville Market off Coldharbour Lane, Market Row, the Reliance and Station Arcades, and Tunstall Road.
Brixton Market became an important focal point for Brixton's Black community after the wave of immigration in the 1950s. Renowned for its African and Caribbean produce, this vibrant market continues to reflect its cosmopolitan roots.
Borough Market
Borough Market claims to have origins in a market that adjoined the southern end of London Bridge in the 13th century. Today’s market was established in 1756 on a site in Rochester Yard.
During the 19th century, Borough Market became one of London’s most important food markets because of its strategic position near the Pool of London’s riverside wharves.
The existing buildings were designed in 1851; additions were made in the early 1860s. An Art Deco-style entrance was added on Borough High Street in 1932.
At the end of the 20th century, Borough Market was a fashionable place to buy fresh and organic food. It has been promoted by television chefs and used as a backdrop for films including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998).
