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Old Spitalfields Market is a covered
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, 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 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
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
The East London History Society: Spitalfields history (Part 2)
Old Spitalfields 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
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
Geography
*Märket, an ...
in Spitalfields, 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 administrated by the City of London Corporation. The market is Europe's leading horticultural m ...
in 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 River L ...
, 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, just outside the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
. The closest London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
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, 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 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 municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
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.
In 1991 the wholesale fruit and vegetable market moved 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 administrated by the City of London Corporation. The market is Europe's leading horticultural m ...
, Leyton, and the original site became known as Spitalfields Market.
The market stalls were redesigned by architects Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide ...
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 or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
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.
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 or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Nor ...
-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 a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
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 (probably 1661 – 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 principa ...
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.
See also
* Spitalfields Market * Leadenhall Market * Old Billingsgate Market * Petticoat Lane Market * Smithfield MarketNotes
References
The East London History Society: Spitalfields history (Part 2)
External links
Old Spitalfields Market - Official Website
{{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