This film is part of Free
London's £2,000,000 Market
Pomp and ceremony as the Lord Mayor lays the foundation stone for the extension of Spitalfields Market
Overview
As far back as 1638, King Charles I and later King Charles II provided permissions and licenses for the sale of "flesh, fowl and roots" in the area of London called Spittle Field, in the heart of the East End. The market was extended into Steward Street in 1926, and the beginnings of the works are seen here, officiated by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir George Rowland Blades.
The covered Victorian Old Spitalfields Market remains a busy site today and its stalls, shops and eateries draw in a healthy trade of tourists as well as locals. The fruit and veg section moved to Leyton in 1991, and is now known as New Spitalfields Market.
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