Earlham Street Market is a

street market A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

in situated in the Seven Dials area of

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

on a short road between

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly Cir ...

and

Monmouth Street Monmouth Street is a street in the Seven Dials district of Covent Garden, London, England. Monmouth Street runs north to south from Shaftesbury Avenue to a crossroads with Tower Street and Shelton Street, where it becomes St Martin's Lane. A ...

. Licences to trade are issued by

Camden London Borough Council Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 18 wards, each electing th ...

. The market has street food and clothing for sale. It has 24 pitches and is open from Monday to Saturday, 10.00 to 16.00.

History

Early history (1710–1867)

The street was completed in 1710 and it is likely that the market dates from then. Unregulated street markets allowed London to grow explosively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The traders could move easily to the new population centres and enabled people to buy provisions without having to travel to the central London wholesale markets. In the early morning traders would load their barrows at the wholesale markets, clean and sort the goods, and then sell them in the new suburban streets. In many cases, the sites of these markets became London's modern high streets.

Management by the police (1867–1927)

In 1867, section six of the Metropolitan Streets Act effectively prohibited street trading. Following public meetings and press criticism, the act was amended within weeks. Section one of the Metropolitan Streets Act Amendment Act 1867 exempted traders but they were now subject to regulation by the police. In 1877 Adolphe Thompson describes the market as crowded with traders and being between the Seven Dials and Five Dials (now demolished to make way for

). In 1892 the market consisted of 41 stalls of which 12 were operated by shopkeepers and the remainder by independent street traders. The market was greatly diminished from its former size. The Market is described as "having existed beyond memory" and being "a marketing centre for the district".

Management by local councils (1927–present)

Metropolitan Borough of Holborn (1927–1965)

The ''London County Council (General Powers) Act 1927'' replaced police regulation with a new

licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

regime administered by metropolitan borough councils. From 1927 to 1965 the market was managed by the

Metropolitan Borough of Holborn The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead to form the London Boroug ...

London Borough of Camden (1965–present)

In 1965 the Borough of Holborn was abolished and its area became part of the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

. Perlmutter records the market having 22 pitches in 1983 but that they were largely unoccupied. He lists fresh seafood, antiques, and vintage records for sale. In the mid-1990s the market is described as consisting of 12 stalls selling army surplus, clothing new and second hand, wooden toys, and recorded music.

Transport

Bus

Bus Routes 14, 19, 24, 29, and

176 Year 176 ( CLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Aper (or, less frequently, year 929 '' Ab urbe condita'') ...

Railway and tube

The nearest stations are

and

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

References

External links

Camden Council's street markets page
the operator of Earlham Street Market
Earlham Street Market—National Market Traders Federation
Retail markets in London 18th-century establishments in England Streets in the City of Westminster Covent Garden {{Retail-market-stub