The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

) was built 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 municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

and was opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert. The market was supplementary to the meat market at Smithfield and was established to remove the difficulty of managing live cattle at that latter site.

History

The market was designed by the corporation's architect,

James Bunstone Bunning James Bunstone Bunning (6 October 1802 – 2 November 1863) was an English architect. He held the post of architect to the City of London from 1843 until his death, and is probably best remembered for his design for the Coal Exchange. Life ...

. He had previously drawn up plans to rebuild the cattle market at Smithfield, before the Corporation decided to remove the trade in live animals to a site outside the City itself. The market originally covered of the site and grounds of Copenhagen House (previously a pleasure resort and

tea garden A tea garden is an outdoor space or garden where tea and light refreshments are served, or any garden with which the drinking of tea is associated. Especially in India, it is also a common term for a tea plantation. The tea garden was a part ...

). It occupied most of the land between Hungerford Road and Hartham Road (north), Caledonian Road (east), Brandon Road and Blundell Street (south) and York Way (west) and its construction cost the Corporation £300,000. Market Road, North Road, Shearling Way and Brewery Road were internal roads within the market area. The site was chosen for its proximity to the

goods yard A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

s of the newly opened Great Northern Railway and

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fe ...

to the north of Kings Cross station. Livestock could be conveniently transported to the depots before being driven the short distance up York Way to the market or walked down from Holloway cattle dock and Junction Road railway station. On market days in excess of 15,000 animals could be traded. The central market area was arranged in a rectangle with stalls and pens for

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

and pigs and a tall central

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

. Dealers' offices were arranged in the central area and slaughter houses were close by. The market was enclosed by cast iron railings, the columns of which were topped with cast iron heads of the animals traded. The railings remain but the heads were removed many years ago. At each of the corners of the main area, large market pubs provided accommodation and entertainment for those visiting the market. The pubs were named ''The Lion'', ''The Lamb'', ''The White Horse'' and ''The Black Bull''. Today, three of the four remain and, with the clock tower, are listed structures. A fifth pub, ''The Butchers Arms'', built to a similar design, was located at the south-west corner of the market site at the junction of York Way and Brewery Road. The building remains. In the early 20th century, as the trade in live animals diminished, a bric-a-brac market developed, which after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

transferred south of the Thames to become the New Caledonian or Bermondsey Market. The markets in the area of the old Metropolitan Cattle Market finally closed in 1963.

Redevelopment

The northern part of the main market site was redeveloped by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(GLC) as the ''

Market Estate Market Estate is a public housing estate consisting of 271 flats and maisonettes situated to the north of Caledonian Park in the London Borough of Islington. It is named after the Metropolitan Cattle Market which operated on the site until the 19 ...

'' and completed in 1967 to a design by architects Farber & Bartholomew. On the western area where sheep were kept, the Corporation built the ''York Way Estate'' to designs by McMorran & Whitby and completed in 1969. The southern area of the market, south of Market Road, where the cattle were kept and where the slaughter houses were is now sports pitches. The rest forms

Caledonian Park The London Borough of Islington is short of large parks and open spaces, given its status in recent decades as a desirable place of residence. In fact, Islington has the lowest ratio of open space to built-up areas of any London borough. The larg ...

. At the break-up of the GLC,

was transferred to the control of the local authority,

. After years of poor maintenance and declining social conditions, the estate was transferred to a

registered social landlord In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help fin ...

, Southern Housing, in 2005. The estate was regenerated, with the original blocks being demolished and replaced with a new layout of streets. The project was completed in 2012 by architects HTA and contractors, Higgins Construction.

References

External links

Friends of Caledonian Park

Museum of London Picture Library

Caledonian Cattle Market, early 20th century

Carpet stall, 1930
{{London markets Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington Wholesale markets in London Former parks and open spaces of London

History

Redevelopment

See also

References

External links