Old Spitalfields Market is a covered market which has been on the site since the 17th century.
There has been a market here since 1638 when King Charles I gave a licence for food to be sold on the Spittle Fields - then a rural area on the eastern outskirts of London. The rights to the market lapsed during the time of the Commonwealth but the market was re-established in 1682 by King Charles II.
Market buildings were sited on a rectangular patch of ground bounded by (the later) Crispin Street to the west, Lamb Street to the north, Red Lion Street (Commercial Street) to the east and Paternoster Row (later Brushfield Street) to the south. The existing buildings were constructed between 1885 and 1893 to the designs of George Sherrin and commissioned by Robert Horner, the last private owner of the market.
The market was acquired by the City of London Corporation in 1920. Spitalfields Market was extended west to Steward Street in 1926, destroying the northern sections of Crispin Street and Gun Street.
In 1991 the wholesale fruit and vegetable market moved to New Spitalfields Market in Leyton. This original site became known as Old Spitalfields Market. Market stalls were redesigned by architects Foster and Partners for Old Spitalfields Market in October 2017.
Since 2005, there has been a (newer) market now called Spitalfields Market immediately to its west. Between the two, a range of markets runs daily with independent local stores and restaurants.
The Victorian buildings and the market hall and roof have been restored and Spitalfields is now one of London’s major markets.
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Old Spitalfields Market is a covered market which has been on the site since the 17th century.
