7 minute read
Trading up
Three titans of London’s market landscape are making the journey east to a new home in Dagenham. Shailja Morris reports on how the world-renowned reputations of the markets were built, why the move will benefit the borough and traders, and how the council clinched the deal.
Etching of Billingsgate Fish Market in 1876
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When London’s iconic wholesale markets - Smithfield, Billingsgate and New Spitalfields - close the gates to their current premises for the last time, they will be handing a powerful legacy to future generations of residents, businesses and visitors at their new joint home in Dagenham.
The world-renowned wholesale giants will be consolidated into a triple mega-market at the 42-acre site of the disused Barking Reach Power Station at Dagenham Dock.
A new training school for market traders and food workers of the future will also be developed nearby in the borough.
No firm date has been set for this historic relocation although the City of London Corporation, which owns the markets, predicts it could take up to three years. What is certain is the move will breathe new life into the markets, provide a bigger and better working environment for traders, and be a huge boost to the borough’s economy and its residents.
The first plans for the scheme went into consultation stage at the end of January and a planning application is expected to be submitted to the council in the spring. The markets are at the heart of the capital’s food economy, and Barking and Dagenham Council aims to ensure they remain successful.
Council leader, Councillor Darren Rodwell, explains: “We need to make sure we give our people the best offer we can. This isn’t just about a wholesale food and produce offer.
“It will bring employment opportunities and a cultural offerwith the potential to become the Barbican of east London. Billingsgate was originally in Barking on the banks of the Thames so it’s about bringing it back home along with Smithfield and New Spitalfields.
“At the moment the markets are their own ecosystems but you can always get something bigger than the sum of its parts, which is what is going to happen right here in this borough.”
Smithfield meat market, which has stood on the same Farringdon location since the 10th century, will be joined by New Spitalfields fruit and vegetable market, which moved from the city to Leyton in 1991, and Billingsgate fish market, which relocated to its new site in Poplar in 1982.
Barking and Dagenham clinched the bid to host the £800 million-a-year markets last summer after beating several rivals. These included Silvertown in the Docklands, Fairlop in Redbridge and the Thames Enterprise Park in Thurrock. The borough’s strong road and rail links, and access to the Thames were deciding factors in the selection process.
James Tumbridge, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Markets Committee, says: “If you go back 1,000 years, fruit and veg, fish and meat were imported into the City through our three markets which were within a half mile of each other around the Square Mile. This move brings them together again.
“London has changed and transport emissions issues have changed. Bringing large trucks through residential areas in the middle of the night to have a functioning meat market is no longer tenable. Billingsgate is hemmed in against the A13 and the river and Canary Wharf and has no space to expand. Its fishmongers and traders want more space. Part of my manifesto to become chairman of the Markets Committee was to do what most cities do and have wholesale markets under one roof.
New Spitalfields Market at its current site in Leyton.
“Delivery vans can come to one place and get different produce without travelling to different locations. There’s a public transport message here.
“The proposed new site will be right on the doorstep of the major trunk roads, like the A13. It is a corner of London that has rail spurs and the river, which needs to be utilised and it is as good as you’re going to get if you’re going to operate markets in London.”
Cllr Rodwell agrees that transport is a key issue and reveals options to improve the borough’s network.
He says: “We need to make more use of the rail network. We have the C2C going all the way up to Fenchurch Street and the international freight terminal which is close to the site.
“The council is working with Network Rail and other landowners to come up with a plan to upgrade the international freight terminal and in the future it could be possible to go from Barking to Beijing in under 36 hours.”
The council, its regeneration arm Be First and the City of London Corporation are working up plans to establish a new food training and commercial centre in the borough, to encourage young food professionals from the area and across London.
The centre would capitalise on the opportunities that the markets bring, and create an exciting new visitor destination that is based on food. Billingsgate already has an outreach programme for schools, and also trains fishmongers and staff from national supermarkets.
Tumbridge explains: “We would not replicate Billingsgate. This facility will be much larger. We want a facility that trains future staff across all market produce, the wider industry and provides positive food messaging to the public.”
As for the location of the food training facility, Pat Hayes, managing director at Be First, says that it is likely to be in Barking town centre.
He adds: “We’re working with the Corporation on identifying a site in or near the town centre as it needs to be in a visible and accessible place.
“The three markets probably won’t be here until 2025, but we plan to have this food school here before then. It will be a real attraction for Barking and there are a couple of potential site options, one just outside the town centre and the other in the heart of the town centre. It needs to be accessible by public transport and have a good public footfall.”
New Spitalfields Market.
Market days
The three iconic wholesale markets at the heart of London’s food economy have a colourful and sometimes gruesome history that goes well beyond selling wholesome food produce.
The origins of Smithfield meat market can be traced back as far as the 10th century on the same site. Known as Smoothfield, it was once a large play area for Londoners on the edge of St Bartholomew’s Priory where jousting and games or tournaments took place.
It was also used for the execution of criminals, including Wat Tyler, a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt, and Scottish revolutionary Sir William Wallace who was put to death at Smithfield in 1305. Around 200 people were persecuted and burned for their religious beliefs at the site during the reign of Mary Tudor.
In the 1860s, City architect, Sir Horace Jones designed the new building. It was deemed such a success that he went on to design Billingsgate and Leadenhall markets and Tower Bridge.
Billingsgate dates back to the 1400s, if not further. The original market lies on the Thames between what is now Tower Bridge and London Bridge and was one of the first wharfs built along the river. Fish was sold from stalls and sheds around docks at the side of the River Thames along with corn, coal, iron, wine, salt and pottery.
The market was not associated exclusively with the fish trade until the 16th century. In 1699 an Act of Parliament was passed making it “a free and open market for all sorts of fish whatsoever”. In 1850, the amount of fish handled increased so much that a formal building was constructed on Lower Thames Street to create a central market space. Over the next century, business kept growing, eventually necessitating a move three miles east of the original wharf, in the Docklands in 1982.
A relative newcomer, New Spitalfields starting life as a 13th century market in a field next to St Mary Spital on the edge of the Square Mile.
Etching of Spitalfields silk weavers in 1893
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In 1682, King Charles II granted silk winder, John Balch, a Royal Charter that gave him the right to hold a market on Thursdays and Saturdays in or near Spital Square. For the next 200 years, it traded from sheds and stalls and became a centre for the sale of home-grown produce.
By 1876, a former market porter called Robert Horner bought a short lease on the market and completed a new building in 1893 at a cost of £80,000.
The City of London acquired direct control of the market in 1920. Although the original buildings were extended, Spitalfields continued to grow, and was forced to move to its current Leyton location in 1991.
Dresses made from Spitalfields silk.
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