Smithfield Market
Charterhouse Street
London
EC1A 9PQ
T: 020 7248 3151
E: smta.smithfield@btconnect.com
Visitor Information
Architect: Sir Horace Jones
Built: 1868
Size: 40, 469m²
Awards: Grade II listed
Smithfield is one of the oldest markets in London – a livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century. It is thought that the name Smithfield came from a corruption of ‘smeth field’, Saxon for ‘Smoothfield’. In 1860 the City of London obtained an Act of Parliament allowing the construction of new buildings on the Smithfield site. Work began on the structure, designed by City Architect Sir Horace Jones (who also designed Leadenhall Market and the restored Guildhall), in 1866 and the vast cathedral-like structure of ornamental cast iron, Kentish red brick and Portland stone was completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816. Jones described the style as “Italian, more nearly allied to the Renaissance architecture than the more severe Palladian school.”
The long, low structure was built above railway lines which had newly connected London to every other part of the country, enabling meat to be delivered directly to the market. Today, Smithfield covers 10 acres (of which 6.5 are buildings) and is dominated by Jones’ imposing Grade II listed covered market, the ironwork painted in purple and green. The General Market was added in 1883 and the Annexe Market in 1888. The Metropolitan Meat & Poultry Act also authorised the development of the Poultry Market which opened in 1875. This building was subsequently destroyed by a major fire in 1958 and was replaced by the current £2m building, designed by Sir Thomas Bennett, in 1962. While unremarkable from the outside, inside it is a feat of engineering: in 1963 its 225ft domed roof was the largest clear spanning dome roof in Europe.
In the 1990s the market underwent a £70m refurbishment – this included the construction of new sealed loading bays, a new automated overhead meat rail system, new stalls and chiller rooms – all inside Grade II listed buildings. The underground area, no longer the railway sidings, became a car park. Since the 1990s, the Smithfield area has seen its popularity rise. Venues such as Fabric and Turnmills were the pioneers of the area’s night life and Clerkenwell is home to many media companies.