Smithfield Market

A Thousand Years of Trading Heritage

Smithfield's story begins in the mists of medieval London, when the site was described in 1174 by William Fitzstephen as "a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold." The name itself derives from "Smeeth field"—Old English for smooth plain—a flat expanse that lay just outside the Roman city walls. By the 12th century, livestock traders from across England converged here, with animals arriving from as far as the Midlands, Wales and Scotland. The City of London Corporation formalized its control through a charter granted by Edward III in 1327, establishing the legal framework that would govern the market for centuries. By the 18th century, Daniel Defoe declared Smithfield "the greatest [market] in the world," with over a million animals—mostly sheep—passing through annually by the century's end.

From Livestock Chaos to Victorian Innovation

By the early 19th century, Smithfield had become a scene of urban chaos. Drovers herded cattle, sheep and pigs through crowded London streets lined with houses and businesses, creating noise, congestion and sanitary nightmares. The market handled 220,000 cattle and 1.5 million sheep annually, overwhelming the surrounding neighbourhood. This crisis prompted the Smithfield Market Removal Act of 1852, which relocated the live livestock market to Copenhagen Fields in Islington. The site then lay dormant for a decade until Parliament passed the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act of 1860, authorizing construction of a revolutionary new covered market.

Sir Horace Jones and the Grand Victorian Complex

Work began in 1866 under the direction of City Architect Sir Horace Jones, who would later design Tower Bridge and Billingsgate Market. The Central Market, inspired by Italian architecture, opened on 24 November 1868 following an elaborate ceremony attended by 1,200 guests, complete with music by the Grenadier Guards and lavish feasting. The construction cost £993,816—equivalent to approximately £113 million in modern currency. The market's most revolutionary feature was its integration with London's expanding railway network: Metropolitan Railway freight trains passed directly beneath the market through a massive basement of brick arches and iron girders, allowing meat to be unloaded and lifted to the surface by hydraulic lifts or spiral ramps. This infrastructure transformed Smithfield into the premier wholesale meat market of the British Empire, perfectly positioned to receive frozen imports from Australia, New Zealand and South America as refrigeration technology advanced.

Architectural Splendour and Market Evolution

The original Central Market featured 162 easily accessible stalls arranged along open sides, allowing customers to browse freely. Between 1873 and 1876, the Poultry Market was constructed immediately west of the Central Market, featuring a distinctive rotunda with gardens, a fountain and a ramped carriageway. The General Market followed between 1879 and 1883, designed to absorb trade from the nearby Farringdon Market. Today's refurbished buildings accommodate 23 units in the East Building and 21 in the West, each tailored to individual tenant requirements with temperature-controlled storage areas. The Grade II listed buildings remain largely intact, having survived the Great Fire of London and the bombing campaigns of the Second World War, when the market was repurposed for storage and housed an army butchers' school.

A Living Wholesale Operation

Smithfield operates as the UK's largest EU-approved wholesale meat market, functioning as a professional trading hub rather than a retail destination. The market opens Monday to Friday from midnight to 7am, when articulated refrigerated lorries deliver fresh meat that is unloaded by forklift and distributed to butchers, restaurants and food businesses across London and beyond. The tight-knit community of traders represents generations of families working within the same premises, maintaining traditions of craftsmanship and professional standards. Each stall meets the latest food safety and hygiene regulations, with customers required to wear clean protective clothing when inspecting goods inside the shops.

Echoes of Medieval Smithfield

Before its transformation into a meat market, Smithfield held profound significance in London's civic and cultural life. The open field hosted jousting tournaments and summer festivals during medieval times, and from 1133 to 1855, the legendary Bartholomew Fair drew crowds for two weeks of trading, entertainment, puppet shows, wrestling matches and dancing bears. The site also served as London's primary execution ground from the 13th century, where Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1305, and Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants' Revolt, was beheaded in 1381. Religious dissenters were burnt at the stake here during the turbulent Reformation. A small memorial plaque near the market commemorates Wallace's sacrifice, reminding visitors of the profound historical weight carried by this location.