Inverness Street Market is an outdoor
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
Camden,
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
.
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 ...
.
History
Early history (1851–1867)
The street was originally called Wellington Street for
Arthur Wellesley; it was renamed Inverness Street in 1937 in honour of
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
who, prior to his coronation, held the titles of
Duke of York and
Earl of Inverness
The title of Earl of Inverness (Scottish Gaelic: Iarla Inbhir Nis) was first created in 1718 in the Jacobite Peerage of Scotland, together with the titles Viscount of Innerpaphrie and Lord Cromlix and Erne, by James Francis Edward Stuart ("Ja ...
.
As in the case of the former
Plender Street Market
Plender Street Market is an outdoor street market in Camden, North London. Licences to trade are issued by Camden London Borough Council.
History
Early history (1851–1867)
Originally King Street but renamed in 1946 as Plender Street in ...
, Inverness Street Market represents a remnant of Camden Town Market which moved off
Camden High Street
The A400 road is an A road in London that runs from Charing Cross (near Trafalgar Square, in London's West End) to Archway in North London. It passes some of London's most famous landmarks.
The Northern line ( Charing Cross and High Barne ...
after the late nineteenth-century electrification of horse-drawn
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s.
Camden Town Market is described by Henry Mayhew in 1851 as consisting of 50 stalls. Unregulated street markets allowed London to grow explosively in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. 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.
The market was still on the High Street in 1878:
Saturday evenings the upper part of the street, thronged as it is with stalls of itinerant vendors of the necessaries of daily life, and with the dwellers in the surrounding districts, presents to an ordinary spectator all the attributes of a market place.
Management by local councils (since 1927)
Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras (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 St Pancras
St Pancras was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Boa ...
.
Benedetta's The Street Markets of London makes only a passing reference to Inverness Street Market indicating that it was trading on weekdays only with mostly fruit and vegetables to purchase.
Latterly a successful boxing trainer,
George Francis worked on Inverness Street Market in the 1940s.
London Borough of Camden (since 1965)
In 1965 the Borough of St Pancras 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 ...
.
In the mid-1980s the market was thriving, with about fifty stalls predominantly selling fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, fish, and household goods.
By the mid-1990s the market had declined somewhat to thirty stalls. While the range of products had remained similar to that of ten years before, the stalls closest to Camden High Street had changed their lines to souvenirs.
![Inverness Street Market from Camden High Street 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Inverness_Street_Market_from_Camden_High_Street_2020.jpg)
Until 2009 there were bus stops on Camden High Street a short walk from Inverness Street and its market. In 2009 these stops were removed, leaving a walk of a few hundred metres from the now nearest stops. After over a hundred years and following complaints for residents of the streets and local shop traders the Council also insisted that the barrows be removed from the street when the market was not trading. Due to the lack of storage options, the barrows had to be destroyed and many of the remaining fruit and veg traders left.
Until the 2010s the market predominantly sold produce, including fruit and vegetables. However, as the traditional shops turned into bars and eateries to cater to Camden’s booming tourist and night-time economies the market evolved towards clothing, souvenirs, and street-food.
After 2010 the market mostly sold clothing, souvenirs, and
street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
, with the last fruit and vegetable stand leaving some years after the nearby bus stop was closed.
In popular culture
Inverness Street Market was used as a filming location in the British drama television serial
The Interceptor
''The Interceptor'' is a British drama television serial that was first broadcast on BBC One from 10 June until 29 July 2015. The eight-part series was written by Tony Saint and made by BBC Drama Productions. The series was cancelled after on ...
in 2015.
Transport
Bus
Many bus routes including
24,
27,
31,
88,
134 134 may refer to:
* 134 (number)
* AD 134
* 134 BC
* 134 (MBTA bus)
*134 (New Jersey bus) 134 may refer to:
*134 (number)
* AD 134
*134 BC
*134 (MBTA bus)
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus division operates bus routes in the B ...
,
168, and
274.
Railway and tube
The market is near
Camden Town tube station
Camden Town is a London Underground station on the Northern line. It is a major junction for the line, as it is where the Edgware and High Barnet branches merge from the north, and is also where they split to the south into the Bank and Charin ...
, and not far from
Camden Road railway station
Camden Road railway station in the London Borough of Camden, north London, is operated by London Overground. It is on the North London line and in Travelcard Zone 2.
The first Camden Road station was opened by the North London Railway in 185 ...
.
References
External links
camden.gov.uk/markets€”Camden Council’s markets webpages
Inverness Street Market—National Market Traders Federation
{{Markets in London
Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Camden
Retail markets in London
Camden Town
19th-century establishments in England