 Borough Market in 2018 | |
| Environment | Covered |
|---|---|
| Goods sold | Food |
| Days normally open | Tuesday-Sunday (Closed on Mondays) |
| Website | boroughmarket |
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, [1] [2] with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built in the 1850s, and today the market mainly sells speciality foods to the general public.
The market itself claims to have existed since 1014 "and probably much earlier" [3] as Snorri Sturluson describes Southwark as a "great market town" when describing an incident in Heimskringla dated to 1014. A market that originally adjoined the end of London Bridge was first mentioned in 1276 and was subsequently moved south of St Margaret's church on the High Street. [4] The City of London received a royal charter from Edward VI in 1550 to control all markets in Southwark (see Guildable Manor), which was confirmed by Charles II in 1671. However, the market caused such traffic congestion that, in 1754, it was abolished by an Act of Parliament (28 Geo. 2. c. 9). [5] [6]
A second Act that year (28 Geo. 2. c. 23) allowed for the local parishioners to set up another market on a new site, and in 1756, it began again on a 4.5-acre (18,000 m2) site in Rochester Yard. [5] [6] During the 19th century, it became one of London's most important food markets due to its strategic position near the riverside wharves of the Pool of London. [5]
By the mid 1990s the market had declined and trustees decided to revive it as a retail rather than a wholesale market. [7] : 119 In 1998 they invited Henrietta Green to hold a Food Lovers' Fair, which recruited several long-term traders for the market. [7] : 119–120 From 1996 they let unused space to wholesale businesses such as Neal's Yard Dairy, Brindisa and Monmouth Coffee Company. The new tenants were encouraged to open their premises to retail customers. [7] : 233
In 2011, seven traders were expelled from the market for trading from their storage units at Maltby Street Market a mile away. In turn the traders criticised poor facilities at the market and a move to selling takeaway food. [8]
In the 2017 London Bridge attack, three attackers drove a vehicle over London Bridge and then ran to the area, where they stabbed and killed eight people with knives before they were shot dead by armed police. [9] The market was then closed for 11 days following the attack. [10]
Borough Market is located on Southwark Street and Borough High Street just south of Southwark Cathedral on the southern end of London Bridge.
The retail market operates six days per week; it is closed on Mondays. [11]
The present buildings were designed in 1851 by Henry Rose, [12] with additions in the 1860s and an entrance designed in the Art Deco style added on Southwark Street in 1932. Significant changes to the buildings have been made over the years as a result of successive expansions to the nearby railway infrastructure; see "Railway viaducts and the Thameslink Programme".
A refurbishment began in 2001. The Work includes the re-erection in 2004 of the South Portico from the Floral Hall, previously at Covent Garden, which was dismantled when the Royal Opera House was reconstructed in the 1990s. [5] The original Convent Garden building was listed and the resited portico was Grade II listed in 2008. [13]
The present-day market mainly sells speciality foods to the general public. However, in the 20th century, it was essentially a wholesale market, selling produce in quantity to greengrocers. It was the main supplier, along with Covent Garden, of fruits and vegetables to retail greengrocers' shops. Amongst the notable businesses trading in the market were Vitacress, Lee Brothers (potato merchants whose signage can still be seen in the market), Manny Sugarman, AW Bourne and Eddy Robbins. JO Sims, the main importer for South African citrus fruit (Outspan), were also located in the market.
Stallholders come to trade at the market from different parts of the UK, and traditional European products are also imported and sold. Amongst the produce on sale are fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, meat, game, baked bread and pastries.
The market is a charitable trust administered by a board of volunteer trustees, who have to live in the area. [14]
Borough Market and the surrounding streets have been used as a film location for such features as Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). [15] More recently some scenes in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) were shot there. [16] As reported by the London Evening Standard, the market is available to hire for private events. [17]
From 1860, the railway operating companies desired to extend services from London Bridge station into new stations at Cannon Street and Blackfriars in the City and link to the West End at Charing Cross Station. This required a viaduct, but legally, it was impossible by the Borough Market Act 1756 for the trustees to alienate their property. The compromise was that only a flying leasehold was given to the railway company for the permanent way, but only for as long as a railway operates on it. The market continues to trade underneath the arches of the viaduct. Each time there is a railway expansion requiring widening of the viaduct, the trustees receive a full compensation payment. [18]
Most recently, as part of the Thameslink Programme, a large number of listed buildings in the Borough Market area have been altered or demolished. [19] The market building on Bedale Street south-side has had its upper floors removed, as has the Wheatsheaf public house on Stoney Street, for the new railway bridge to cross over them. The remaining floors have been re-occupied. The old market glazed roof on Stoney Street has been re-instated and cleaned. A significant loss was the Smirke Terrace, Nos 16–26 Borough High Street, demolished in 2010. [20]
Southwark is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed due to its position at the southern end of the early versions of London Bridge, for centuries the only dry crossing on the river. Around 43 AD, engineers of the Roman Empire found the geographic features of the south bank suitable for the placement and construction of the first bridge.
London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The main line station is the oldest railway station in London fare zone 1 and one of the oldest in the world having opened in 1836. It is one of two main line termini in London to the south of the River Thames and is the fourth-busiest station in London, handling over 50 million passengers a year.
Deptford is a National Rail station in Deptford in London, England. It is on the Greenwich line, 3 miles 7 chains (5.0 km) down the line from London Bridge, and has staggered platforms on the London Bridge – Greenwich Railway Viaduct, a high brick viaduct on which the line runs at this point above Deptford High Street.
Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local, and regional and limited Southeastern commuter services to South East London and Kent. Its platforms span the River Thames, the only one in London to do so, along the length of Blackfriars Railway Bridge, a short distance downstream from Blackfriars Bridge. There are two station entrances either side of the Thames, along with a connection to the London Underground District and Circle lines.
Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. There is a road of the same name in the area, as well as a railway station.
Borough High Street is a road in Southwark, London, running south-west from London Bridge, forming part of the A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England.
Herne Hill railway station is in the London Borough of Lambeth, South London, England, on the boundary between London fare zones 2 and 3. Train services are provided by Thameslink to London Blackfriars, Farringdon, St Pancras International and St Albans on the Thameslink route and by Southeastern to London Victoria and Orpington on the Chatham Main Line. It is 3 miles 76 chains (6.4 km) down the line from Victoria.
Spa Road railway station in Bermondsey, south-east London, was the original terminus of the capital's first railway, the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR).
Holborn Viaduct was a railway station in the City of London, providing local and commuter services. It was located to the southeast of Holborn Viaduct, and east of Farringdon Street.
Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road.
Southwark Street is a major street in Bankside in the London Borough of Southwark, in London England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Blackfriars Road to the west and Borough High Street to the east. It also connects the access routes for London Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge. At the eastern end to the north is Borough Market.
The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6 billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the south of London. The development facilitated new cross-London journeys, which means that passengers no longer have to change trains in London. Work included platform lengthening, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure, and new rolling stock. The project was originally proposed in 1991 following the successful introduction of the initial Thameslink service in 1988. After many delays, planning permission was granted in 2006 and funding was approved in October 2007. Work started in 2009 and was completed on 18 September 2020, although trains over the new routes began running in 2018.
The A201 is an A road in London, England running from Kings Cross to Bricklayer's Arms.
Stratford High Street is a Docklands Light Railway station in Stratford in London, England. It is located on the Stratford International branch of the Docklands Light Railway, which opened on 31 August 2011. The site was the location of an earlier railway station from 1847 to 1957, known initially as Stratford Bridge and later as Stratford Market - after the nearby wholesale fruit and vegetable market.
The Blue is a central market place in Bermondsey, southeast London. The market is open Monday to Saturday from 9 am until 5 pm and has about 10 stall holders, selling food and clothes. The area has been known locally as The Blue for more than two hundred and thirty years and is probably named after the original Blue Anchor public house that gave its name to Blue Anchor Lane. The market has capacity for 24 stalls.
Southwark St Saviour was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England, and part of the ancient Borough of Southwark. It was formed in 1541 from the union of the parishes of St Margaret and St Mary. It was abolished in 1930, however residents of the former parish receive a rebate against local taxation because of the presence of Borough Market. It included the Liberty of the Clink which was a special jurisdiction until 1889.
The Wheatsheaf is a public house at 6 Stoney Street, Borough, Southwark, London.
Maltby Street Market is a weekly street-food and provisions market in Bermondsey, southeast London, England. The market is located on a street of the same name near Tower Bridge in the old Horselydown parish of Bermondsey.
Chalton Street Market is a street market in Camden, North London.
The Holborn Viaduct–Herne Hill line is a railway line between Holborn Viaduct in the City of London and Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth. After the closure of Holborn Viaduct station the line ends at the south portal of Snow Hill tunnel merging into Snow Hill lines. From there the Widened Lines to St Pancras and Kentish Town are reached. Today the section north of Blackfriars is part of the Thameslink core. Originally being a branch line of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) towards the City of London, the line is sometimes called LCDR City Branch.
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