Smithfield (also known as West Smithfield to distinguish it from the East Smithfield area located in Tower Hamlets) is an area in the north-west part of the City of London (which is itself the historic core of a much larger London). East Smithfield is the name of a road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets ( is a London borough to the east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 The area and its history 2 The market 2.1 The ancient livestock market 2.2 Victorian Smithfield 2.3 Smithfield in the 20th Century 2.4 Smithfield today 3 Demolition and development plans 4 Photo gallery 5 List of people executed at Smithfield 6 References 7 External links

The area and its history

Smithfield was originally the Smooth Field just outside the city walls and was used over the centuries as London's main livestock market. London Wall was the Defensive wall built by the Romans around Londinium, their strategically important port town on the River Thames in England London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food As a large open space close to the City it was a favourite place for gatherings such as public executions and jousting. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.

In 1374 Edward III held a seven days' tournament in Smithfield, for the amusement of his beloved Alice Perrers. Edward III (13 November 1312 &ndash 21 June 1377 was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. Alice Perrers (c 1340 &ndash 1400 is notorious as the mistress of King Edward III of England. In 1390 Richard II invited sixty knights to a tournament in Smithfield. Richard II (6 January 1367 &ndash ca 14 February 1400 was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399 The tournament was proclaimed by heralds, in England, Scotland, Hainault, Germany, Flanders, and France, to rival the jousts given by Charles of France, on the entry of his consort, Isabeau de Bavière, into Paris a few years earlier. Charles VI (3 December 1368 &ndash 21 October 1422 called the Well-loved (le Bien-Aimé and the Mad (French le Fol or le Fou) was the Isabeau de Bavière (also Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c 1370 &ndash September 24, 1435) was a Queen Consort of France (1385-1422 ^[1]

Smithfield was for centuries the main site for the execution of heretics and dissidents. William Wallace was executed here in 1305. Sir William Wallace ( Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam Uallas; c 1272 – 23 August 1305 was a Scottish Knight, Landowner, and Patriot It was used as a meeting place for the peasants in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and the revolt's leader, Wat Tyler was struck by a dagger here on June 15, 1381. A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground Walter Tyler, commonly known as Wat Tyler ( January 4, 1341 – June 15, 1381) was the leader of the English Peasants' Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history The kings men later removed Tyler from the hospital and beheaded him. About 50 Protestants, dissenters and other religious reformers, known as the Marian martyrs, were executed here under the reign of Mary I. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The term dissenter (from the Latin dissentire, “to disagree” labels one who dissents or disagrees in matters of opinion belief etc The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope The Marian Persecutions refers to the persecutions of Religious Reformers Protestants and other Dissenters for their beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 &ndash 17 November 1558 was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death Coin forgers were boiled in oil here during the 16th century. Boiling to death is a crude and torturous method of execution.

Smithfield was also the site of two monasteries - St Bartholomew the Great and Charterhouse - both of which were dissolved in the reformation but both of which have survived in part into the 21st century. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. The Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great is an Anglican church located at West Smithfield in the City of London, founded as an Augustinian The London Charterhouse is a former Carthusian monastery in London, England, to the north of what is now Charterhouse Square. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope St Bartholomew's Hospital was established by the monastery in 1123. St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.

From 1133 to 1855 Smithfield was the location of the Bartholomew Fair, one of London's preeminent summer fairs, opening each year on August 24th. Bartholomew Fair is a Comedy in five acts by Ben Jonson, the last written of his four great comedies A fair is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated Carnival or Funfair entertainment At once a trading event for cloth and other goods and a pleasure fair, the four-day event drew crowds from all classes of English society. The fair was suppressed in 1855 by the City authorities for encouraging public disorder and Smithfield Market was built on the site.

In 1666 the Smithfield area was left mostly untouched by the Great Fire of London, that stopped near the Fortune of War tavern, at the junction of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane, where the statue of the Golden Boy of Pye Corner is located. This article is about the Great Fire of 1666 For other great fires in London see Early fires of London or Second Great Fire of London. The Fortune of War was an ancient Public house in Smithfield London. Giltspur Street is a street in Smithfield, London, running north-south from the junction of Newgate Street Holborn Viaduct and Old Bailey up to West Smithfield The Golden Boy of Pye Corner is located on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane in Smithfield London. In the 17th century, several residents of Smithfield emigrated to the United States where they founded the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island and named it after their hometown in England. Smithfield is a town in Providence County Rhode Island, United States

Since the late 1990s, Smithfield has seen rapid growth in the number of bars, pubs and clubs locating in the area. Nightclubs such as Fabric and Turnmills were the pioneers of the nightlife in the area. Fabric is a Nightclub in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest and most popular night clubs in the UK and widely regarded as one of the best Turnmills was a London nightclub on the corner of Turnmill Street and Clerkenwell Road in the London Borough of Islington. On weekday nights, this nightlife is fed by the many workers based in nearby Holborn, Clerkenwell and the City; at weekends, the nightclubs and bars with late licenses draw people into the area on their own merit. Holborn (ˈhoʊbɚn or /ˈhoʊbɝːn/ "ho bun" is an area of Central London, England Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington.

Until 2002 Smithfield hosted the midnight start of the annual Miglia Quadrato car rally, but with the increased nightclub activity around Smithfield the UHULMC (a motoring club) decided to move the event start to Finsbury Circus

The market

The ancient livestock market

Meat has been traded at Smithfield Market for over 800 years, making it one of the oldest markets in London. The Miglia Quadrato is an annual car treasure hunt which takes place on the second or third weekend in May within the Square Mile of the City of London (the capital The Miglia Quadrato is an annual car treasure hunt which takes place on the second or third weekend in May within the Square Mile of the City of London (the capital Finsbury Circus is the oldest and largest public park and an elliptical square in the City of London, England. A livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food In 1174 the site was described by William Fitzstephen as:

a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold, and in another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk. William Fitzstephen (died c 1191 was a servant of Thomas Becket, witnessed his murder and wrote his biography ^[2]

Charles Dickens criticized the location of a livestock market in the heart of the capital in his 1851 essay A Monument of French Folly and compared it to the French market outside Paris at Poissy:

Of a great Institution like Smithfield, [the French] are unable to form the least conception. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Poissy is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 23 A Beast Market in the heart of Paris would be regarded an impossible nuisance. Nor have they any notion of slaughter-houses in the midst of a city. One of these benighted frog-eaters would scarcely understand your meaning, if you told him of the existence of such a British bulwark. ^[3]

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1852, under the provisions of which a new cattle-market should be constructed in Copenhagen Fields, Islington. Islington is the central district of the London Borough of Islington. The new Metropolitan Cattle Market was opened in 1855, making West Smithfield waste ground for a few years. The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market) in Islington, north London was built by the City of London Corporation and opened in ^[4]

Victorian Smithfield

The present Smithfield meat market on Charterhouse Street was established by an Act of Parliament: the 1860 Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act. Charterhouse Street is a street in Smithfield, on the northern boundary of the City of London. An Act of Parliament is a Law enacted as Primary legislation by a national or sub-national Parliament. It is a large market with permanent buildings, designed by City architect Sir Horace Jones, who was also responsible for Billingsgate and Leadenhall Markets. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction Sir Horace Jones ( 20 May 1819 - 1887 was an English Architect of the 19th century knighted in 30 July 1886 Situated now in East London, Billingsgate Fish Market is the United Kingdom 's largest inland Fish Market. Leadenhall Market is a covered market in the City of London, located in Gracechurch Street. Work on the Central Market, inspired by Italian architecture, began in 1866 and was completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816. ^[2] The two wings (known as East and West Market) were separated by the Grand Avenue, a wide roadway roofed by an elliptical arch with decorations in cast iron. Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but identifies a large group of Ferrous Alloys which solidify with a Eutectic. At the two ends of the arcade, four huge statues represent London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Dublin and bronze dragons hold the City's coat of arms. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people At the corners of the market four octagonal pavilion towers were built, each with a dome and carved stone griffins. A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere. The griffin is a Legendary creature with the body of a Lion and the head and often wings of an Eagle.

The first extension of the meat market took place between 1873 and 1876 with the construction of the Poultry Market located immediately west of the Central Market. A rotunda was built at the centre of the old market field, with gardens, a fountain and a ramped carriageway to the station beneath the market building. Further buildings were added to the market in later years. The General Market, built between 1879 and 1883, was intended to replace the old Farringdon Market located nearby and established for the sale of fruit and vegetables when the earlier Fleet Market was cleared to enable the laying out of Farringdon Street in 1826–30. ^[5] A further block (also known as Annexe Market or Triangular Block) consisting of two separate structures (the Fish Market and the Red House) was built between 1886 and 1899. The Fish Market was completed in 1888, one year after Horace Jones' death . The Red House, with its imposing red brick and Portland stone façade, was built between 1898 and 1899 for the London Central Markets Cold Storage Co. A brick is a block of Ceramic material used in Masonry construction laid using mortar. Portland stone is a Limestone from the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Ltd. . It was one of London's first cold stores to be built outside the London docks and continued to serve Smithfield until the mid-1970s. Docklands is the semi-official name for an area in the east of London, England, comprising parts of several boroughs ( Southwark, Tower Hamlets ^[5]

Smithfield in the 20th Century

During World War II, a large underground cold store at Smithfield was the theatre of secret experiments led by Max Perutz on pykrete, a mixture of ice and woodpulp, alleged to be tougher than steel. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM ( May 19 1914, Vienna, Austria – February 6 2002, Cambridge, Pykrete is a Composite material made of approximately 45 percent Sawdust or some other form of Wood pulp (such as paper and 55 percent Ice by Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 Perutz's work, inspired by Geoffrey Pyke and part of Project Habakkuk, was meant to test the viability of pykrete as a material to construct floating airstrips in the Atlantic to allow refuelling of cargo planes in support of Lord Louis Mountbatten's operations. Geoffrey Nathaniel Pyke ( 9 November 1893 &ndash 22 February 1948) was an English Journalist; a Spy and Project Habakkuk or Habbakuk (spelling varies see below was a plan by the British in World War II to construct an Aircraft carrier out of An airport is a location where Aircraft such as airplanes, Helicopters and blimps take off and land Cargo airlines (or airfreight carriers, and derivatives of these names are Airlines dedicated to the Transport of Cargo. Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, ^[6][7] The experiments were carried by Perutz and his collaborators in a refrigerated meat locker in a Smithfield Market butcher's basement, behind a protective screen of frozen animal carcasses. ^[8] These experiments became obsolete with the development of longer range aircraft and the project was soon abandoned.

At the end of World War II, a V2 rocket struck at the north side of Charterhouse Street, near the junction with Farringdon Road (1945). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including See also Vergeltungswaffe The V-2 rocket ( Vergeltungswaffe 2 was the first Ballistic missile and first man-made object to achieve Charterhouse Street is a street in Smithfield, on the northern boundary of the City of London. Farringdon Road is a road in Clerkenwell, Central London. Its construction which took almost 20 years between the 1840s and the 1860s is considered one of the greatest The explosion caused massive damage to the market buildings, extending into the railway tunnel below, and over 110 casualties. ^[9][10]

Horace Jones' original Poultry Market was destroyed by fire in 1958. The replacement building was designed by Sir Thomas Bennett in 1962–1963, incorporating a dome roof of 225 feet (69 m). Thomas Bennett may refer to Thomas Bennett (architect (1887-1980 British architect responsible for much of the development of the Crawley and Stevenage ^[11]

Smithfield today

Smithfield is one of the few of the great London markets not to have moved from its central site to a location further out with cheaper land, better transport links and more modern facilities (compare with Covent Garden and Billingsgate). New Covent Garden Market is a wholesale fruit vegetable and flower market known as 'London's Larder' located in Nine Elms between Vauxhall and Battersea Situated now in East London, Billingsgate Fish Market is the United Kingdom 's largest inland Fish Market. Since the market is designed to supply inner city butchers, shops and restaurants with meat for the coming day, the trading hours are from 4:00 a. m. to 12:00 noon every weekday. ^[2]

Instead, Smithfield market has been modernised on its existing site; for instance, its imposing Victorian buildings have had access points added for lorry loading and unloading purposes. The buildings sit on top of a warren of tunnels: initially, live animals were brought to the market on foot (from the mid-19th Century onwards they arrived by rail) and were slaughtered on site. Snow Hill Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the northern edge of the City of London between City Thameslink and Farringdon stations This no longer takes place and the former railway tunnels are now used for storage, parking and as basements. An impressive cobbled ramp spirals down round the public park now known as West Smithfield, on the south side of the market, to give access to part of this area. Some of the buildings on Charterhouse Street on the north side have access into the tunnels from their basements.

Some of the buildings formerly associated with the meat market have now been put to other uses. For example, the former Central Cold Store is now, most unusually, a city centre power station operated by Citigen. A power station (also referred to as generating station, power plant or powerhouse) is an industrial facility for the generation of Another former cold store now houses the nightclub Fabric. Fabric is a Nightclub in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest and most popular night clubs in the UK and widely regarded as one of the best

The public park comprises the centre of the only part of Smithfield which is still open space — this is in effect a large square with the market forming one side and mostly older buildings the other three. The south side is occupied by St Bartholomew's Hospital (frequently known as Barts), and part of the east side by the church of St Bartholomew the Great. St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England. The Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great is an Anglican church located at West Smithfield in the City of London, founded as an Augustinian The church of St Bartholomew the Less is just inside the hospital's main gate. St Bartholomew-the-Less is an Anglican church in the City of London.

Demolition and development plans

Since 2005, the General Market (1883) and the adjacent Fish Market and Red House buildings (1898), part of the Victorian complex of the Smithfield Market, have been facing a threat of demolition. Their owner, the City of London Corporation intends to replace them with office blocks. The City of London Corporation (formerly known as the Corporation of London)is the municipal governing body of the City of London. Property developers Thornfield Properties plan to demolish the historic site and build a seven-storey office block, offering 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) of office space with a retail outlet on the ground floor. ^[12] Several campaigns, promoted by English Heritage^[13] and Save Britain's Heritage^[14] among others,^{[15] [16]} are being run to raise public awareness on this important part of London's Victorian heritage. English Heritage is a Non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government ( Department for Culture Media and Sport) with a broad remit of SAVE Britain's Heritage is a Pressure group in the United Kingdom that campaigns for the conservation of buildings In March 2005, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced the decision to give listed building protection to the Red House Cold Store building, on the basis of new historical evidence qualifying the complex as "the earliest existing example of a purpose-built powered cold store". Tessa Jowell (born 17 September 1947 in London) is a British Politician. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance ^[17] The destiny of the adjoining buildings, in particular the General Market, remains unclear. Development plans have been postponed after Government planning minister Ruth Kelly decided to call a major public inquiry to be held in 2007. Ruth Maria Kelly (born 9 May 1968 is a British politician, currently Member of Parliament for the Bolton West Constituency representing ^[18] The Public Inquiry for the demolition and redevelopment of the General Market Building took place between November 6, 2007 and January 25, 2008. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[19]

Some of the buildings on Lindsey Street opposite the West Market are likely to be demolished to allow the construction of the new Crossrail station at Farringdon. Crossrail is a project to build major new Railway connections under central London. Farringdon is an historic area of the City of London, represented today by the wards of Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without. The buildings to be demolished include Smithfield House (an unlisted early 20th century Hennebique concrete building) the Edmund Martin Ltd. François Hennebique ( April 26, 1842 &ndash 7 March, 1921) was a French Engineer and self-educated builder who patented shop (an earlier building with alterations dating to the 1930s) and two Victorian warehouses behind them. ^[20]

Photo gallery

The Central Market and Grand Avenue from the south	The former Central Cold Store at Smithfield is now a power station	Port of London Authority building	Decoration on the Eastern side of the Fish Market (1888)
General Market (now abandoned)	View inside General Market (now abandoned)	One of the intricately detailed internal gates of the Central Market. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea.

List of people executed at Smithfield

• William Wallace (1305)
• John Badby (1410)
• William Sawtrey (1401)
• Thomas Bagley (1431)
• John Frith (1533)
• John Lambert (1538)
• John Forrest (1538)
• Anne Askew (1546)
• Joan Bocher (1550)
• John Bradford (1555)
• John Cardmaker (1555)
• John Philpot (1555)
• John Warne (1555)
• John Rogers (1555)
• Robert Southam (late 1550s)
• Roger Holland (1558)

References

External links

• Visit Smithfields at imagelinka
• London: Smithfield Market: literary quotations about Smithfield.
• Historic picture of Smithfield Market circa 1830 featuring St Bartholomew's Hospital (the centre building in the background) and the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral behind that. St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England. St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London.
• St Bartholomew the Great church website.
• Images of Smithfield circa 1991 black and white images of Smithfield meat market before renovations in the mid-1990s.
• Aerial photo of Smithfield, London. Other map and aerial photo sources.
• 1958 Smithfield Market Fire - London Fire Journal

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