View source for Smithfield, London

{{Short description|District of central London}}
{{For|the district and road in Tower Hamlets|East Smithfield}}
{{Redirect|West Smithfield|the American community|West Smithfield, North Carolina}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Smithfield
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.519|-0.102|display=inline,title}}
| london_borough           = City of London
| constituency_westminster = [[Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Cities of London and Westminster]]
| post_town                = London
| postcode_area            = EC
| postcode_district        = EC1
| dial_code                = 020
| os_grid_reference        =
| country                  = England
| region                   = London
| map_type                 = Greater London
| static_image_name        = File:Smithfield Meat Market tower1.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Smithfield Meat Market 
}}
[[File:Coat of Arms of The City of London.svg|thumb|180px| City of London coat of arms]]
'''Smithfield''', properly known as '''West Smithfield''',<ref>Brewers Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable, Russ Willey, Chambers 2009</ref> is a district located in [[Central London]], part of [[Farringdon Without]], the most westerly [[Wards of the City of London|ward]] of the [[City of London]], England. 

Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as [[St Bartholomew's Hospital]] and [[Livery company|livery halls]], including those of [[Worshipful Company of Butchers|the Butchers']] and [[Worshipful Company of Haberdashers|Haberdashers' Companies]]. The area is best known for the Smithfield [[meat market]],  which dates from the 10th century, has been in continuous operation since [[Middle Ages|medieval times]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visitor Info - Smithfield Market |url=http://www.smithfieldmarket.com/content/visitor_information |website=www.smithfieldmarket.com |access-date=30 November 2014 |archive-date=12 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112162400/http://www.smithfieldmarket.com/content/visitor_information |url-status=dead }}</ref> and is now London's only remaining [[wholesale]] [[market (place)|market]].  Smithfield's principal street is called ''West Smithfield.''<ref name="www.cityoflondon.gov.uk">{{Cite web |title=West Smithfield Rotunda Garden - City of London |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/city-gardens/visitor-information/Pages/West-Smithfield-Rotunda-Garden.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131140814/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/city-gardens/visitor-information/Pages/West-Smithfield-Rotunda-Garden.aspx |archive-date=31 January 2018 |access-date=30 November 2014 |website=www.cityoflondon.gov.uk}}</ref><ref>Renamed in 1889 to avoid confusion with the Smithfield in Tower Hamlets, nowadays called ''East Smithfield''.</ref> Each summer, from the 12th century to the 19th century the area hosted [[Bartholomew Fair]], and the area also contains the City's oldest surviving church building, [[St Bartholomew-the-Great]], dating from 1123 (most City churches were destroyed in the [[Great Fire of 1666]]).

The area is located just beyond the [[Newgate|New Gate]] and formerly [[Newgate Prison|its prison]] which held condemned prisoners. In former centuries, especially prior to the establishment of [[Tyburn]], the area bore witness to many [[List of people executed in Smithfield|executions]] of heretics and political rebels,<ref name="world and its people">{{Cite book |last=Dunton |first=Larkin |url=https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog |title=The World and Its People |publisher=Silver, Burdett |year=1896 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog/page/n32 24]}}</ref> as well as Scottish knight [[Sir William Wallace]], and [[Wat Tyler]], leader of the [[Peasants' Revolt]], among many other religious reformers and dissenters (later on, public executions were generally moved out to [[Tyburn]], until being moved back to the prison).

The present Smithfield Market, a [[Listed building|Grade II listed]]-[[Market (place)|covered market building]], was designed by Victorian architect [[Horace Jones (architect)|Sir Horace Jones]] in the second half of the 19th century, and is the dominant architectural feature of the area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Smithfield Market - City of London |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/wholesale-food-markets/smithfield/Pages/History-of-Smithfield-Market.aspx |website=www.cityoflondon.gov.uk |access-date=30 November 2014 |archive-date=10 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210044338/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/wholesale-food-markets/smithfield/Pages/History-of-Smithfield-Market.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some of its original market premises fell into disuse in the late 20th century and faced the prospect of demolition. The [[Corporation of London]]'s [[public enquiry]] in 2012<ref>{{Cite web |title=Smithfield Market - City of London |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/wholesale-food-markets/smithfield/Pages/default.aspx |website=www.cityoflondon.gov.uk |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205100539/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/wholesale-food-markets/smithfield/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> drew widespread support for an [[Urban planning|urban regeneration plan]] intent upon preserving Smithfield's historical identity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prynn |first=Jonathan |date=9 July 2014 |title=Eric Pickles throws out £160m Smithfield Market scheme |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/eric-pickles-throws-out-ps160m-smithfield-scheme-9591652.html |website=www.standard.co.uk}}</ref>

==Smithfield area==
[[File:Smithfield as shown on the Agas map of 1561.JPG|thumb|350px|Smithfield from the [[Woodcut map of London|"woodcut" map]] of {{Circa|1561}}, illustrating its proximity with open fields to the west, and cattle pens by the City]]
In the Middle Ages, it was a broad [[pasture|grassy area]] known as ''Smooth Field'', located beyond [[London Wall]] and stretching to the eastern bank of the [[River Fleet]]. Given its ease of access to [[grazing]] and [[water supply|water]], Smithfield established itself as London's [[livestock]] [[market (place)|market]], remaining so for almost 1,000 years. Many local [[Toponymy|toponyms]] are associated with the livestock trade: while some street names (such as "Cow Cross Street" and "[[Cock Lane]]") remain in use, many more (such as "Chick Lane", "Duck Lane", "Cow Lane", "Pheasant Court", "Goose Alley"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rocque |first=John |url=http://www.motco.com/map/81002/ |title=London, Westminster and Southwark |year=1746 |volume=Segments 59–60 (Sheet D1, sections 8–9) |author-link=John Rocque |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523191653/http://www.motco.com/MAP/81002/ |archive-date=23 May 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>) have disappeared from the [[Woodcut map of London|map]] after the major redevelopment of the area in the [[Victorian era]].

===Religious history===

In 1123, the area near [[Aldersgate]] was granted by King Henry I for the foundation of St Bartholomew's Priory at the request of [[Rahere|Prior Rahere]], in thanks for his being nursed back to good health. The Priory exercised its right to enclose land between the vicinity of the boundary with [[Aldersgate|Aldersgate Without]] (to the east), Long Lane (to the north) and modern-day [[Newgate|Newgate Street]] (to the south), erecting its main western gate which opened onto Smithfield, and a [[postern]] on Long Lane. By facing the open space of Smithfield and by having 'its back to' the buildings lining [[Aldersgate|Aldersgate Street]], the Priory site has left a continuing legacy of limited connectivity between the Smithfield area and Aldersgate Street.

The Priory thereafter held the [[lord of the manor|manorial right]]s to hold weekly [[fair]]s, which initially took place in its outer court on the site of present-day [[Cloth Fair]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.landmarktrust.org.uk |url=http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/45a-cloth-fair-1722/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001446/http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/45a-cloth-fair-1722/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=30 November 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> leading to "Fair Gate".<ref name="Bounds">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51780 ''The parish: Bounds, gates and watchmen''], ''The Records of St. Bartholomew's Priory [and] St. Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield:'' volume 2 (1921), pp. 199–212. Retrieved 10 April 2009</ref>

An additional annual celebration, the [[Bartholomew Fair]], was established in 1133 by the [[Canons regular|Augustinian canons]]. Over time, this became one of London's pre-eminent [[carnival|summer fair]]s, opening each year on 24 August. A trading event for [[cloth]] and other goods as well as being a pleasure forum, the four-day festival drew crowds from all [[Social class|strata]] of English society.

[[File:Smithfield 1827.jpeg|thumb|350px|Smithfield in 1827, from [[Christopher Greenwood (cartographer)|John Greenwood]]'s map of London]]

In 1855, however, the [[City of London Corporation|City authorities]] closed Bartholomew Fair as they considered it to have degenerated into a magnet for debauchery and public disorder.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cavendish |first=Richard |year=2005 |title=London's Last Bartholomew Fair: September 3rd, 1855 |journal=History Today |volume=55 |issue=9 |pages=52}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=City of London |title=Smithfield Market |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/nr/rdonlyres/24b6c04d-ff99-445d-a2ca-7e618b42bf85/0/lh_gag_b3smithfieldmarketinformation.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327103512/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/nr/rdonlyres/24b6c04d-ff99-445d-a2ca-7e618b42bf85/0/lh_gag_b3smithfieldmarketinformation.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009 |access-date=23 March 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 1348, [[Walter de Manny]] rented {{convert|13|acre|km2|2}} of land at ''Spital Croft'', north of Long Lane, from the [[Lord paramount|Master]] and [[Brother (Catholic)|Brethren]] of St Bartholomew's Hospital, for a graveyard and plague pit for victims of the [[Black Death]]. A chapel and hermitage were constructed, renamed ''New Church Haw''; but in 1371, this land was granted for the foundation of the Charterhouse, originally a [[Carthusian]] [[monastery]].<ref name="Charter">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22116 ''Religious Houses: House of Carthusian monks''], ''A History of the County of Middlesex:'' Volume 1: ''Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century'' (1969), pp. 159–169.  accessed: 10 April 2009</ref>

Nearby and to the north of this demesne, the [[Knights Hospitaller]] established a [[Commandry (feudalism)|Commandery]] at Clerkenwell, dedicated to St John in the mid-12th century. In 1194 they received a [[Royal charter|Charter]] from [[King Richard I]] granting the [[Order of chivalry|Order]] formal privileges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.orderofstjohn.org |url=http://www.orderofstjohn.org/our-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006155731/http://www.orderofstjohn.org/our-history |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> Later [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[canoness]]es established the Priory of St Mary, north of the [[Knights of St John]] property.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22118 ''Religious Houses: Houses of Augustinian canonesses''], ''A History of the County of Middlesex:'' Volume 1: ''Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century'' (1969), pp. 170–182. Retrieved 10 April 2009.</ref>

By the end of the 14th century, these religious houses were regarded by City traders as interlopers – occupying what had previously been [[common land|public open space]] near one of the [[City gate]]s. On numerous occasions vandals damaged the Charterhouse, eventually demolishing its buildings. By 1405, a stout wall was built to protect the property and maintain the privacy of the Order, particularly its church where men and women alike came to worship.<ref name=Charter/>

The religious houses were dissolved in the [[English Reformation|Reformation]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - History - An Overview of the Reformation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/reformation_overview_01.shtml |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> and their lands broken up. [[St John Clerkenwell|The Priory Church of St John]] remains,<ref>{{Cite web |title=St John's Church and St John's Square - British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=119414 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> as does [[St John's Gate, Clerkenwell|St John's Gate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.museumstjohn.org.uk |url=http://www.museumstjohn.org.uk/history/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210032424/http://www.museumstjohn.org.uk/history/index.html |archive-date=10 February 2015 |access-date=30 November 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[John Houghton (martyr)|John Houghton]] (later canonized by Pope Paul VI as ''St John Houghton''),<ref>{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-978019861a4128-e-13867|title=Houghton, John [St John Houghton] (1486/7–1535), prior of the London Charterhouse and martyr|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/13867}}</ref> The prior of Charterhouse went to [[Thomas Cromwell]], accompanied by two other local priors, seeking an [[oath of supremacy]] that would be acceptable to their [[Religious institute|communities]]. Instead they were imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]], and on 4 May 1535, they were taken to [[Tyburn, London|Tyburn]] and hanged – becoming the first [[Catholic]] [[Carthusian Martyrs|martyr]]s of the Reformation. On 29 May, the remaining twenty monks and eighteen lay brothers were forced to swear the oath of allegiance to King Henry VIII; the ten who refused were taken to [[Newgate Prison]] and left to starve.<ref>[http://soli.inav.net/~jfischer/jun99/barrybossa.html ''The Carthusian Martyrs of London''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405084531/http://soli.inav.net/~jfischer/jun99/barrybossa.html |date=5 April 2007 }} Barry Bossa accessed 9 May 2009</ref>

With the monks expelled, Charterhouse was requisitioned and remained as a private dwelling until its reestablishment by [[Thomas Sutton]] in 1611 as a charitable foundation; it was the basis of the school named [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]] and [[almshouse]]s known as ''Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse'' on its former site. The school was relocated to [[Godalming]] in 1872. Until 1899 Charterhouse was [[extra-parochial area|extra-parochial]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.thecharterhouse.org |url=http://www.thecharterhouse.org/chapel-services/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209102708/http://www.thecharterhouse.org/chapel-services/ |archive-date=9 February 2015 |access-date=30 November 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> that year it became a [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] incorporated in the [[Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction - British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=119408 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> Some of the property was damaged during [[The Blitz]], but it remains largely intact. Part of the site is now occupied by [[Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry]].

From its inception, the Priory of St Bartholomew treated the [[Illness|sick]]. After the Reformation it was left with neither income nor monastic occupants but, following a petition by the City Corporation, [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] refounded it in December 1546, as the "House of the Poore in West Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation". [[Letters Patent]] were presented to the [[Lord Mayor of London|City]], granting property and income to the new foundation the following month. King Henry VIII's [[History of surgery|sergeant-surgeon]], [[Thomas Vicary]], was appointed as the [[St Bartholomew's Hospital|hospital]]'s first [[wikt:Special:Search/superintendent|superintendent]].<ref name="BartsHist">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45108 ''St Bartholomew's Hospital''], ''Old and New London'': Volume 2 (1878), pp. 359–363 accessed: 9 April 2009</ref> The King Henry VIII Gate, which opens onto West Smithfield, was completed in 1702 and remains the hospital's main entrance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.bartshealth.nhs.uk |url=http://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/st-bartholomew%E2%80%99s-hospital/find-us/ |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-date=4 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204173609/http://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/st-bartholomew%E2%80%99s-hospital/find-us/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Priory's principal church, St Bartholomew-the-Great, was reconfigured after the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], losing almost all of its [[nave]]. Reformed as an [[Church of England|Anglican]] [[parish church]], its parish boundaries were limited to the site of the ancient priory and a small tract of land between the church and Long Lane. The parish of St Bartholomew the Great was designated as a [[Liberty (division)|Liberty]], responsible for the upkeep and security of its fabric and the land within its boundaries. With the advent of street lighting, mains water, and sewerage during the Victorian era, maintenance of such an ancient [[Parish (Church of England)|parish]] with so few parishioners became increasingly uneconomical after the Industrial Revolution. In 1910, it agreed to be incorporated by the [[Corporation of London]] which guaranteed financial support and security. Great St Barts' present parish boundary includes just [[Foot (unit)|10 feet]] (3.048 m) of Smithfield – possibly delineating a former [[Right-of-way (property access)|right of way]].<ref name=Bounds/>

After the [[Reformation]], a separate [[ecclesiastical parish|parish]] likewise dedicated to [[St Bartholomew]] was granted in favour of [[St Bartholomew's Hospital]]; named [[St Bartholomew-the-Less]], it remained under the hospital's [[advowson|patronage]], unique in the [[Church of England]], until 1948, when the hospital was nationalized in the [[National Health Service]].<ref>[http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cats/51/5163.htm ''St Bartholomew the Less parish''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191749/http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cats/51/5163.htm |date=3 March 2016 }} (AIM25) accessed 9 April 2009</ref> The church [[Incumbent (ecclesiastical)|benefice]] has since been joined again with its ancient partner, the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saint Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield |url=http://www.greatstbarts.com/ |website=www.greatstbarts.com}}</ref>

Following the diminished influence of the ancient Priory, predecessor of the two parishes of St Bartholomew, disputes began to arise over rights to tithes and taxes payable by lay residents who claimed allegiance with the nearby and anciently associated parish of [[St Botolph Aldersgate]] – an unintended consequence and legacy of King Henry VIII's religious reforms.<ref name=Bounds/>

Smithfield and its market, situated mostly in the [[parish]] of [[St Sepulchre (parish)|St Sepulchre]], was founded in 1137, and was endowed by [[Rahere|Prior Rahere]], who also founded St Barts. The ancient parish of St Sepulchre extended north to [[Turnmill Street]], to [[St Paul's Cathedral]] and [[Ludgate Hill]] in the south, and along the east [[Bank (geography)|bank]] of the [[River Fleet|Fleet]] (now the route of [[Farringdon Street]]). St Sepulchre's Tower contains the twelve "bells of Old Bailey", referred to in the nursery rhyme "[[Oranges and Lemons]]". Traditionally, the Great Bell was rung to announce the execution of a [[prisoner]] at [[Newgate]].

===Civil history===
As a large [[common land|open space]] close to the City, Smithfield was a popular place for public gatherings.  In 1374 [[Edward III]] held a seven-day [[tournament]] at Smithfield, for the amusement of his beloved [[Alice Perrers]]. Possibly the most famous [[jousting|medieval tournament]] at Smithfield was that commanded in 1390 by [[Richard II of England|Richard II]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lindenbaum |first=Sheila |year=1990 |title=The Smithfield Tournament of 1390 |journal=Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1–20}}</ref> [[Jean Froissart]], in his fourth book of [[Froissart's Chronicles|Chronicles]], reported that sixty knights would come to London to tilt for two days, "accompanied by sixty noble ladies, richly ornamented and dressed".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Froissart |first=Jean |url=http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/froissart/london.htm |title=Chronicles |isbn=0-14-044200-6 |chapter=The Count d'Ostrevant attends a great tournament in London and gets into trouble |author-link=Jean Froissart |access-date=24 August 2008}}</ref> The tournament was proclaimed by [[herald]]s throughout England, Scotland, Hainault, [[Holy Roman Empire|Germany]], Flanders and France, so as to rival the jousts given by [[Charles VI of France|Charles of France]] at [[Paris]] a few years earlier, upon the arrival of his consort [[Isabeau of Bavaria|Isabel of Bavaria]].<ref name="thornbury_smithfield">{{Cite book |last=Thornbury |first=Walter |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45105 |title=Old and New London |year=1878 |volume=2 |pages=339–344 |chapter=XLII. Smithfield |author-link=George Walter Thornbury |access-date=1 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910051950/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45105 |archive-date=10 September 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] supervised preparations for the tournament as a clerk to the King.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Patterson |first=Lee |title=Chaucer and the Subject of History |publisher=Routledge |year=1991 |isbn=0-415-07315-4 |page=93}}</ref> It is told that, between 1389 and 1394, another large tournament was celebrated in the city<ref>{{Cite book |last=Braga |first=Teófilo |title=Os doze de Inglaterra |publisher=Livraria Chardron |year=1902 |pages=300}}</ref> which spawned the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] legend of the [[The Twelve of England|Twelve of England]], where twelve Portuguese knights were called to defend the honour of several ladies-in-waiting of [[John of Gaunt]]'s castillian wife [[Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster|Constance of Castile]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Hutchinson |first=Amélia P. |title="Os Doze de Inglaterra": A Romance of Anglo-Portuguese Relations in the Later Middle Ages? |date=2007 |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603103_9 |work=England and Iberia in the Middle Ages, 12th–15th Century: Cultural, Literary, and Political Exchanges |pages=167–187 |editor-last=Bullón-Fernández |editor-first=María |access-date=2023-09-17 |series=The New Middle Ages |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |language=en |doi=10.1057/9780230603103_9 |isbn=978-0-230-60310-3|url-access=subscription }}</ref> At the time, John of Gaunt's daughter [[Philippa of Lancaster|Philipa of Lancaster]] was married to [[John I of Portugal|John of Aviz]], [[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal]], lending credence to the story, although how much and which parts of it are true is still debated.

[[File:DeathWatTyler.jpg|thumb|350px|Depiction of [[Wat Tyler]]'s demise by the hand of [[William Walworth|Sir William Walworth]] in the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381, with [[Richard II]] watching at right]]
Along with [[Tyburn, London|Tyburn]], Smithfield was for centuries the main site for the [[list of people executed in Smithfield|public execution]] of [[Heresy|heretic]]s and [[dissident]]s in London. The Scottish nobleman [[Sir William Wallace]] was executed in 1305 at West Smithfield. The market was the [[wikt:forum|meeting place]] prior to the [[Peasants' Revolt]] and where the Revolt's leader, [[Wat Tyler]], was slain by [[William Walworth|Sir William Walworth]], [[Lord Mayor of London]] on 15 June 1381.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hobbs |first=Jeff |title=The History of the Peasants' Revolt |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404234315/http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html |archive-date=4 April 2007 |access-date=21 January 2009 |publisher=Britannia History |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Religious dissenters ([[Catholic]]s as well as other [[Protestant]] denominations such as [[Anabaptist]]s) were [[Death by burning|sentenced to death]] in this area during the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Crown]]'s changing course of religious orientation started by [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]]. About fifty Protestants and [[English Reformation|religious reformers]], known as the [[Marian Persecutions|Marian martyrs]], were executed at Smithfield during the reign of [[Mary I of England|Mary I]].

[[G. K. Chesterton]] observed ironically:
{{Quote|It is foolish, generally speaking, for a philosopher to set fire to another philosopher in Smithfield Market because they do not agree in their theory of the universe. That was done very frequently in the last decadence of the [[Middle Ages]], and it failed altogether in its object.|''Heretics'' 1905}}

On 17 November 1558, several Protestant heretics were saved by a royal herald's timely announcement that Queen Mary had died shortly before the [[faggot (wood)|wooden faggots]] were to be lit at the Smithfield [[Death by burning|Stake]]. Under [[English Law]] [[Execution warrant|death warrants]] were commanded by [[Sign Manual]] (the personal signature of the [[Monarch]]), invariably upon ministerial recommendation, which if unexercised by the time of a Sovereign's death required renewed authority. In this case [[Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth]] did not approve the executions, thus freeing the Protestants. During the 16th century, the Smithfield site was also the place of execution of [[swindler]]s and [[forger|coin forgers]], who were [[Boiling to death|boiled to death]] in oil.

By the 18th century, the "Tyburn Tree" (near the present-day [[Marble Arch]]) became the main place for public executions in London.<ref name="tyburn">{{Cite book |last=McKenzie |first=Andrea |title=Tyburn's Martyrs: Execution in England, 1675–1775 |publisher=Hambledon Continuum |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84725-171-8}}</ref> After 1785, executions were again moved, this time to the gates of [[Newgate Prison]], just to the south of Smithfield.

The Smithfield area emerged largely unscathed by the [[Great Fire of London]] in 1666, which was abated near the [[The Fortune of War Public House|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. In the late 17th century several residents of Smithfield emigrated to North America, where they founded the [[town]] of [[Smithfield, Rhode Island]].

===West Smithfield Bars===
Until the 19th century, the area included boundary markers known as the West Smithfield Bars (or more simply, Smithfield Bars).<ref name="auto">BHO https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol46/pp203-221</ref> These marked the northern boundary of the City of London and were placed at a point approximating to where modern [[Charterhouse Street]] meets St John Street, which was historically the first stretch of the [[Great North Road (Great Britain)|Great North Road]]. The Bars were on the route of the former [[River Fleet#Fagswell Brook|Fagswell Brook]], a tributary of the Fleet, which marked the City's northern boundary in the area.
[[File:Cloth Fair, West Smithfield, looking West, 1904 by Philip Norman.jpg|thumb|Cloth Fair, West Smithfield, looking West, 1904 by [[Philip Norman (artist)|Philip Norman]]]]
The Bars are first documented in 1170<ref name="auto" /> and 1197,<ref>London, its origin and early development William Page 1923 (including reference to the primary source). Link: https://archive.org/details/londonitsorigine00pageuoft/page/178/mode/2up/search/bishopsgate</ref> and were a site of public executions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EBBA 20801 - UCSB English Broadside Ballad Archive |url=https://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20801/xml}}</ref>

===Today===
Since the late 1990s, Smithfield and neighbouring [[Farringdon, London|Farringdon]] have developed a reputation for being a cultural hub for up-and-coming professionals, who enjoy its bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

Nightclubs such as [[Fabric (club)|Fabric]] and [[Turnmills]] pioneered the area's reputation for trendy [[night life]], attracting professionals from nearby [[Holborn]], [[Clerkenwell]] and the [[City of London|City]] on weekdays. At weekends, the clubs and bars in the area, having [[Alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom|late licence]]s, draw people into the area from outside London too.

Smithfield has also become a venue for sporting events. Until 2002 Smithfield hosted the midnight start of the annual [[Miglia Quadrato|Miglia Quadrato car treasure hunt]], but with the increased night club activity around Smithfield, the [[UHULMC]] (a motoring club) decided to move the event's start to [[Finsbury Circus]]. Since 2007, Smithfield has been the chosen site of an annual event dedicated to [[road bicycle racing]] known as the ''Smithfield Nocturne''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Smithfield Nocturne |url=http://www.nocturneseries.com/smithfield/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328124006/http://www.nocturneseries.com/smithfield/ <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=28 March 2009 |access-date=10 April 2009 |website=The Nocturne Series |publisher=FACE Partnership}}</ref>

Number 1, West Smithfield is head office of the [[Churches Conservation Trust]].

== Market ==
[[File:Smithfield market map.png|thumb|300px|Map outlining Smithfield Market's main buildings]]

=== Origins ===
Meat has been traded at Smithfield Market for more than 800 years, making it one of the oldest [[Market (economics)|markets]] in London.<ref name="official_website" /> A [[livestock]] market occupied the site as early as the 10th century.

In 1174 the site was described by [[William Fitzstephen]] as:
<blockquote>a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be traded, and in another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk.<ref name="official_website" /></blockquote>
Costs, customs and rules were meticulously laid down. For instance, for an ox, a cow or a dozen sheep one could get 1 penny.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rydaeva |first=Anastasia |title=London Markets: Smithfield |url=http://historygeekintown.com/london-markets-smithfield-market/ |access-date=23 March 2016 |website=History Geek In Town}}</ref>
The livestock market expanded over the centuries to meet demand from the growing population of the City. In 1710, the [[Market square|market]] was surrounded by a wooden fence containing the livestock within the market. Until the market's abolition, the Gate House at Cloth Fair ("Fair Gate") employed a [[chain]] (''le cheyne'') on market days.<ref name=Bounds/> [[Daniel Defoe]] referred to the livestock market in 1726 as being "without question, the greatest in the world",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Defoe |first=Daniel |url=https://archive.org/details/natureofpolitics0000mast/page/342 |title=A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain |year=1726 |isbn=0-300-04980-3 |page=342 |author-link=Daniel Defoe |url-access=registration}}</ref> and data available appear to corroborate his statement.

Between 1740 and 1750 the average yearly sales at Smithfield were reported to be around 74,000 cattle and 570,000 sheep.<ref name="dodd" /> By the middle of the 19th century, in the course of a single year 220,000 head of cattle and 1,500,000 sheep would be "violently forced into an area of five acres, in the very heart of London, through its narrowest and most crowded thoroughfares".<ref name="fm" /> The volume of cattle driven daily to Smithfield started to raise major concerns.

The [[Great North Road (Great Britain)|Great North Road]] traditionally began at Smithfield Market, with St John Street and Islington High Street forming the initial stages. Road mileages were taken from [[Hicks Hall]], a short distance up St John Street, some 90 metres north of the ''West Smithfield Bars''. The site of the hall continued to be used as the starting point for mileages even after it was demolished soon after 1778.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Webster |first=Norman |title=The Great North Road |date=1974 |publisher=Adams and Dart |location=Bath |pages=15–16}}</ref> The road followed St John Street, and continued north, eventually leading to [[Edinburgh]]. Using the former site of the hall as the starting point ended in 1829, with the establishment of the [[General Post Office]] at [[St Martin's-le-Grand]], which became the new starting point, with the route following [[Goswell Road]] before joining Islington High Street and then re-joining the historic route.

In modern days, the market was known for its [[Smithfield Market Christmas Eve meat auction|Christmas Eve meat auction]], where buyers thronged to buy surplus produce in cash-only bargain transactions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-24 |title=UK's oldest meat market holds auction ahead of potential closure after 800 years |url=https://metro.co.uk/2024/12/24/britains-oldest-meat-market-holds-auction-ahead-potential-closure-800-years-22247859/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Metro |language=en}}</ref>

===Local campaigning against the cattle market===
In the [[Victorian era|Victorian period]], pamphlets started circulating in favour of the removal of the livestock market and its relocation outside of the City, due to its extremely poor hygienic conditions<ref name="dodd">{{Cite book |last=Dodd |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERQHAAAAQAAJ |title=The Food of London: A Sketch of the Chief Varieties, Sources of Supply, Probable Quantities, Modes of Arrival, Processes of Manufacture, Suspected Adulteration, and Machinery of Distribution, of the Food for a Community of Two Millions and a Half |publisher=Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans |year=1856 |pages=228 |author-link=George Dodd (19th-century writer)}}</ref> as well as the brutal treatment of the cattle.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kean |first=Hilda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eP9PAAAAIAAJ |title=Animal rights: political and social change in Britain since 1800 |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=1998 |isbn=1-86189-014-1 |pages=59 |chapter='Wild' domestic animals and the Smithfield Market |author-link=Hilda Kean}}</ref> The conditions at the market in the first half of the 19th century were often described as a major threat to public health:

<blockquote>Of all the horrid abominations with which London has been cursed, there is not one that can come up to that disgusting place, West Smithfield Market, for cruelty, filth, effluvia, pestilence, impiety, horrid language, danger, disgusting and shuddering sights, and every obnoxious item that can be imagined; and this abomination is suffered to continue year after year, from generation to generation, in the very heart of the most Christian and most polished city in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maslen |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HgEAAAAQAAJ |title=Suggestions for the Improvement of Our Towns and Houses |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co. |year=1843 |location=London |pages=16}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Smithfield Last day of Old Smithfield ILN 1855.jpg|thumb|350px|Old Smithfield in 1855, an outdoor market]]

In 1843, the ''Farmer's Magazine'' published a petition signed by bankers, salesmen, butchers, [[aldermen]] and City residents against further expansion of the meat market, arguing that livestock markets had been systematically banned since the Middle Ages in other areas of London: 

<blockquote>Our ancestors appear, in sanitary matters, to have been wiser than we are. There exists, amongst the Rolls of Parliament of the year 1380, a petition from the citizens of London, praying that, for the sake of the public health, meat should not be slaughtered nearer than "[[Knightsbridge|Knyghts-brigg]]", under penalty, not only of forfeiting such animals as might be killed in the "butcherie", but of a year's imprisonment. The prayer of this petition was granted, and its penalties were enforced during several reigns.<ref name="fm">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eP9PAAAAIAAJ |title=The Farmer's Magazine |publisher=Rogerson and Tuxford, 1849 |year=1849 |location=London |pages=142}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Thomas Hood]] wrote in 1830 an ''Ode to the Advocates for the Removal of Smithfield Market'', applauding those "philanthropic men" who aim at removing to a distance the "vile Zoology" of the market and "routing that great nest of Hornithology [sic]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hood |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5IzocZIkoHwC |title=The Comic Annual |publisher=H. Colburn |year=1830 |location=London |author-link=Thomas Hood}}</ref> [[Charles Dickens]] criticised locating a livestock market in the heart of the [[City|capital]] in his 1851 essay ''[[s:A Monument of French Folly|A Monument of French Folly]]'' drawing comparisons with the French market at [[Poissy]] outside Paris:

<blockquote>Of a great Institution like Smithfield, [the French] are unable to form the least conception. A Beast Market in the heart of Paris would be regarded an impossible nuisance. Nor have they any notion of [[Slaughterhouse|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dickens |first=Charles |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Monument_of_French_Folly |title=A Monument of French Folly |date=8 March 1851 |publisher=Household Words |location=London |author-link=Charles Dickens}}</ref></blockquote>

An [[act of Parliament]], the [[Metropolitan Market Act 1851]] ([[14 & 15 Vict.]] c. 61), was passed, under the provisions of which a new [[Market (economics)|cattle market]] should be constructed at Copenhagen Fields, [[Islington]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Metropolitan Cattle Market, Copenhagen Fields |url=http://www.victorianlondon.org/markets/copenhagenfields.htm |website=www.victorianlondon.org}}</ref> The [[Metropolitan Cattle Market]] opened in 1855, leaving West Smithfield as waste ground for about ten years during the construction of the new market.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thornbury |first=Walter |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45117 |title=Old and New London: Volume 2 |year=1878 |pages=491–496 |chapter=The Metropolitan Meat-Market |author-link=George Walter Thornbury |access-date=1 February 2008}}</ref>

===Victorian Smithfield: meat and poultry market===
{{further|Smithfield General Market|Smithfield Poultry Market}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act 1860
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to establish at Smithfield in the City of London a Metropolitan Market for Meat, Poultry, and other Provisions; and for other Purposes connected therewith.
| year                  = 1860
| citation              = [[23 & 24 Vict.]] c. cxciii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 13 August 1860
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = {{ubli|Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market (Borrowing) Act 1864}}
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/23-24/193/pdfs/ukla_18600193_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market (Borrowing) Act 1864}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to amend the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act, 1860, and other Acts, with respect to the borrowing of Money; and for other Purposes.
| year                  = 1864
| citation              = [[27 & 28 Vict.]] c. xv
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 28 April 1864
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = {{ubli|Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act 1860}}
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|London Central Markets Act 1886}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for empowering the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London to make further and better provisions with reference to the London Central Markets; and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1886
| citation              = [[49 & 50 Vict.]] c. viii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 16 April 1886
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = amended
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/49-50/8/pdfs/ukla_18860008_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|London Central Markets Act 1875}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for the establishment of a Fruit, Vegetable, and Flower Market in the City of London, and the extension of the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market there, and the abolition of Farringdon Market; and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1875
| citation              = [[38 & 39 Vict.]] c. lix
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 14 June 1875
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = amended
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/38-39/59/pdfs/ukla_18750059_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Fish market smithfield.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Dilapidated decorations at Smithfield.]]

The present Smithfield [[meat market]] on [[Charterhouse Street]] was established by [[act of Parliament]], the '''{{visible anchor|Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act 1860}}''' ([[23 & 24 Vict.]] c. cxciii).<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/3f6c4bad-289f-4aab-b8e4-393cb97d2e36 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023524/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/3f6c4bad-289f-4aab-b8e4-393cb97d2e36 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=30 November 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> It is a [[market (place)|large market]] with permanent buildings, designed by [[architect]] [[Horace Jones (architect)|Sir Horace Jones]], who also designed [[Billingsgate Fish Market|Billingsgate]] and [[Leadenhall Market|Leadenhall]] markets. Work on the ''Central Market'', inspired by Italian architecture, began in 1866 and was completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816 (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|993816|1868|r=-6}}|0}} as of {{inflation/year|UK}}).<ref name="official_website" />{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}

The [[Listed building|Grade II listed]] main wings (known as ''East'' and ''West Market'') are separated by the ''Grand Avenue'', a wide roadway roofed by an elliptical arch with decorations in [[cast iron]]. At the two ends of the arcade, four prominent statues represent London, [[Edinburgh]], [[Liverpool]] and [[Dublin]]; they depict bronze dragons charged with the [[City of London|City]]'s [[coat of arms|armorial bearings]]. At the corners of the market, four octagonal pavilion towers were built, each with a [[dome]] displaying carved stone [[griffin]]s.

As the market was being built, a [[cut and cover]] railway tunnel was constructed below street level to create a triangular junction with the railway between [[Blackfriars railway station|Blackfriars]] and [[London King's Cross railway station|Kings Cross]] through [[Snow Hill Tunnel (London)|Snow Hill Tunnel]]. The tunnel was closed in 1916, but it has been reopened<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disused Stations: Snow Hill/Holborn Viaduct Low Level Station |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/snow_hill/ |website=www.disused-stations.org.uk}}</ref> and is now used by [[Thameslink (route)|Thameslink]] rail services.<ref>[http://www.londonrailways.net/snowhill.htm ''Snowhill''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605193008/http://www.londonrailways.net/snowhill.htm |date=5 June 2013 }} (London Railways) accessed 13 April 2009</ref> The construction of extensive [[railway sidings]], beneath Smithfield Park, facilitated the transfer of animal carcasses to its [[Cool store|cold store]], and directly up to the meat market via [[elevator|lift]]s. These sidings closed in the 1960s. They are now used as a car park, accessed via a cobbled descent at the centre of Smithfield Park. Today, much of the meat is delivered to market by road.

The first extension of Smithfield's meat market was built between 1873 and 1876 with the construction of the ''[[Smithfield Poultry Market|Poultry Market]]'' immediately west of the Central Market. A [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] was built at the centre of the old Market Field (now West Smithfield), comprising gardens, a fountain and a ramped carriageway to the station beneath the market building. Further buildings were subsequently added to the market. The ''[[Smithfield General Market|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 between 1826–1830.<ref name="save">{{Cite book |last=SAVE Britain's Heritage |title=Don't Butcher Smithfield. The threat to Britain's finest group of market buildings. |publisher=Save Britain's Heritage |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-905978-45-1 |location=London |author-link=Save Britain's Heritage}}</ref>

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'', built by [[Mowlem|John Mowlem & Co.]],<ref>{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-51893|title=Burt family (per. c. 1830–1964), building contractors and civil engineers|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/51893|last1=Port|first1=M. H.}}</ref> was completed in 1888, one year after Sir 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. Ltd.''. It was one of the first [[cool store|cold stores]] to be built outside the [[London Docklands|London docks]], and continued to serve Smithfield Market until the mid-1970s.<ref name="save" />

=== 20th century ===

During the [[Second World War]], a large underground cold store at Smithfield was the theatre of secret experiments led by [[Max Perutz|Dr Max Perutz]] on [[pykrete]], a mixture of ice and [[woodpulp]], believed to be possibly tougher than [[steel]]. Perutz's work,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Max F. Perutz - Biographical |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1962/perutz-bio.html |website=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> inspired by [[Geoffrey Pyke]] and part of [[Project Habakkuk]], was meant to test the viability of pykrete as a material to construct floating [[airstrip]]s in the [[Atlantic]] to allow refuelling of [[cargo plane]]s in support of [[Lord Louis Mountbatten|Admiral the Earl Mountbatten]]'s operations.<ref>
<!-- note the URL of the following article redirects to ScienceDirect, but should NOT be changed as this is the preferred citation URL indicated in the article-->
{{Cite journal |last=Gratzer |first=Walter |date=5 March 2002 |title=Max Perutz (1914–2002) |journal=Current Biology |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=R152–R154 |doi=10.1016/S0960-9822(02)00727-3 |doi-access=free |s2cid=30263181 |df=dmy-all}}
</ref><ref>
<!-- note the URL of the following article performs a redirect, but should NOT be changed as this is the preferred citation URL indicated in the article-->
{{Cite journal |last=Ramaseshan |first=S. |date=10 March 2002 |title=Max Perutz (1914–2002) |journal=Current Science |publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences |volume=82 |issue=5 |pages=586–590 |issn=0011-3891 |hdl=2289/728}}</ref> The experiments were carried out by Perutz and his colleagues in a refrigerated meat locker in a Smithfield Market butcher's basement, behind a protective screen of frozen animal carcasses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Collins |first=Paul |year=2002 |title=The Floating Island |url=http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/7/floatingisland.php |journal=Cabinet Magazine |issue=7 |access-date=12 January 2008}}</ref> These experiments became obsolete with the development of longer-range [[aircraft]], resulting in abandonment of the project.

Towards the very end of the Second World War, a [[V-2]] rocket struck the north side of [[Charterhouse Street]], near the junction with [[Farringdon Road]] (1945). The explosion caused massive damage to the market buildings, affected the railway tunnel structure below, and caused more than 110 deaths.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The V2 Rocket: Smithfield Market. |url=http://www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V2_maintextd.html |access-date=31 January 2008 |website=Flying Bombs and Rockets}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grady |first=Derrick |date=14 November 2003 |title=The V2 at Smithfield Market. |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/36/a2038736.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419201459/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/36/a2038736.shtml |archive-date=19 April 2013 |access-date=31 January 2008 |website=WW2 People's War |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

On 23 January 1958, a fire broke out in the basement of Union Cold Storage Co at the [[Smithfield Poultry Market]]. The fire spread throughout the maze of basements under the market and burned for three days. Over 1,700 fire fighters with 389 fire engines were required to bring the blaze under control. Two firefighters were killed and 50 were injured or treated for smoke inhalation. The market was largely destroyed, and large portions not directly affected by fire collapsed as basements caved in. The introduction of [[Self-contained breathing apparatus|breathing apparatus]] by the [[London Fire Brigade]] was a direct result of the fire. 

A red plaque commemorating the two firefighters who died was unveiled at the market on the 60th anniversary of the fire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Smithfield Market, January 1958 |url=https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/museum/history-and-stories/historical-fires-and-incidents/the-smithfield-market-fire-1958/ |publisher=London Fire Brigade}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The fire at Smithfield Poultry Market, 60 years on |url=https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/remembering-smithfield-poultry-market-fire |publisher=Museum of London}}</ref> A replacement building was designed by [[Thomas Bennett (architect)|Sir Thomas Bennett]] in 1962–63,<ref>{{Cite book |last=City of London Corporation, Department of Planning |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9FE0BB3B-DA85-4E30-86F3-E9BF024750AC/0/DP_PL_CA_smithfield.pdf |title=Smithfield: Conservation Area Character Summary |publisher=City of London, Department of Planning |year=1996 |isbn=0-85203-049-5 |series=Conservation Areas in the City of London |author-link=City of London Corporation |access-date=28 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008170929/http://cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9FE0BB3B-DA85-4E30-86F3-E9BF024750AC/0/DP_PL_CA_smithfield.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> with a reinforced concrete frame, and external cladding of dark blue brick. It is [[Listed building|Grade II listed]]. The main hall is covered by an enormous concrete [[dome]], shaped as an elliptical [[paraboloid]], spanning {{convert|225|ft|m}} by {{convert|125|ft|m}} and only {{convert|3|in|cm}} thick at the centre. The dome is believed to have been the largest [[concrete shell]] structure built at that time in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zeidler |first=Cordula |year=2004 |title=Poultry Market |url=http://www.riskybuildings.org.uk/docs/17poultry/ |access-date=23 March 2009 |publisher=Risky Buildings}}{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Today ===
[[File:Workers inside Smithfield market 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Smithfield Central Market at work]]
Smithfield is the City of London's only major wholesale market ([[Leadenhall Market]] nowadays attracts more tourist trade)<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.cityoflondon.gov.uk |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visiting-the-city/food-drink-and-shopping/leadenhall-market/Pages/Leadenhall-Market-history.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821112011/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visiting-the-city/food-drink-and-shopping/leadenhall-market/Pages/Leadenhall-Market-history.aspx |archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref> which has escaped relocation out of central London to cheaper land, better transport links, and more modern facilities. ([[New Covent Garden Market|Covent Garden]], [[New Spitalfields Market|Spitalfields]] and [[Billingsgate Fish Market|Billingsgate]] have all relocated). The market operates to supply inner City butchers, shops and restaurants with quality fresh meat, and so its main trading hours are 4:00&nbsp;a.m. to 12:00&nbsp;noon each weekday.<ref name="official_website">{{Cite web |title=Smithfield Market |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Business/Markets/smithfield_meat_market.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401074946/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/corporation/LGNL_Services/Business/Markets/smithfield_meat_market.htm |archive-date=1 April 2009 |access-date=10 April 2009 |website=City of London: Markets |publisher=Corporation of London |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Instead of moving away, Smithfield Market continues to modernise its existing site: its imposing Victorian buildings have had access points added for the loading and unloading of [[lorry|lorries]].

The buildings stand above a warren of [[Snow Hill Tunnel (London)|tunnels]]: previously, live animals were brought to market by hoof (from the mid-19th century onwards they arrived by rail) and were slaughtered on site. The former railway tunnels are now used for storage, parking and as basements. An impressive cobbled ramp spirals down around West Smithfield's public garden,<ref name="www.cityoflondon.gov.uk" /> on the south side of the market, providing access to part of this area. Some of the buildings on Charterhouse Street on Smithfield's north side maintain access to the tunnels via their basements.

Some of the former meat market buildings have now [[Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987|changed use]]. For example, the former Central Cold Store, on [[Charterhouse Street]] is now, most unusually, a city centre [[cogeneration]] [[power station]] operated by Citigen.<ref>[http://www.eon-uk.com/about/849.aspx ''CHP plant''] ([[E.ON|E-on UK]]) accessed 13 April 2009</ref> The Metropolitan Cold Stores was converted in 1999 into the nightclub [[Fabric (club)|Fabric]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simon Usborne |date=26 June 2015 |title=Smithfield: London's centuries-old meat market where your 8am fry-up comes with a pint of stout |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/smithfield-londons-centuries-old-meat-market-where-your-8am-fry-up-comes-with-a-pint-of-stout-10342318.html |access-date=15 February 2018 |newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> and the 'Smiths' of Smithfield bars and restaurants.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Communications |first=Propeller |title=Smiths of Smithfield |url=https://www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Smiths of Smithfield |language=en-US}}</ref>

Smithfield comprises the market as its central feature, surrounded by many old buildings on three sides and a public open space (or Rotunda Garden) at West Smithfield, beneath which there is a public car park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.cityoflondon.gov.uk |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/transport-and-streets/parking/where-to-park/car-parks/Pages/Smithfield-car-park.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308103241/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/transport-and-streets/parking/where-to-park/car-parks/Pages/Smithfield-car-park.aspx |archive-date=8 March 2015 |access-date=30 November 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The south side is occupied by [[St Bartholomew's Hospital]] (known as ''Barts'' in common parlance), and on the east side by the Priory Church of [[St Bartholomew the Great]]. The Church of [[St Bartholomew the Less]] is located next to the King Henry VIII Gate, the hospital's main entrance.

The north and south of the square are now closed to through traffic, as part of the City's security and [[surveillance]] cordon known as the ''[[Ring of steel (London)|Ring of steel]]''. Security for the market is provided by its [[City of London market constabularies|market constabulary]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wards > Farringdon without |url=http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/SaferCityWards/YourCityWard/Wards/farringdonwithout.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818234017/http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/SaferCityWards/YourCityWard/Wards/farringdonwithout.htm |archive-date=18 August 2010 |access-date=2 March 2011 |website=City of London Police website |publisher=[[City of London Police]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Closure===
====Abandoned plan for a Relocation to Dagenham====
In early 2019, the City of London Corporation's main decision-making body, the Court of Common Council, proposed that [[Billingsgate Fish Market]], [[New Spitalfields Market]] and Smithfield Market should move to a new consolidated site in [[Dagenham Dock wholesale market|Dagenham Dock]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tobin |first=Olivia |date=28 April 2019 |title=Historic Smithfield Market to move as preferred new location revealed |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/historic-smithfield-market-to-move-after-800-years-in-central-london-a4126721.html |website=www.standard.co.uk}}</ref> A formal planning application was made in June 2020,<ref name="ZGP-03Jun2020">{{Cite news |last=Garner-Purkis |first=Zak |date=3 June 2020 |title=City of London lodges plans to move historic markets to Dagenham |work=Construction News |url=https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/buildings/city-of-london-lodges-plans-to-move-historic-markets-to-dagenham-03-06-2020/ |access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> and received outline permission in March 2021. However, in November 2024, the council announced it did not intend to proceed with these plans as they were no longer economically viable; the £800M cost was deemed too expensive<ref name=ftmarket>{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Joshua |title=Smithfield: last orders for London’s historic meat market |url=https://www.ft.com/content/67e02eb0-e6b8-45b2-b23a-4585330ea7d2 |work=Financial Times |date=29 November 2024}}</ref>

====Planned closure, then planned relocation to Newham====
The City of London Corporation announced in November 2024 that Smithfield market, along with Billingsgate Fish Market, would close in or after 2028 with no replacement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-26 |title=Smithfield and Billingsgate: Meat and fish markets to close |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje050wz22qo |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> A deal was struck between the Corporation and a group of traders, who would receive £150 million in compensation, and would not protest against the closure.<ref name=ftmarket /> However, in December 2025, the Corporation and the [[Greater London Authority]] signed a Memorandum of Understanding to relocate both wholesale markets to Albert Island east of [[London City Airport]] in [[London Borough of Newham|Newham]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morby |first1=Aaron |title=Iconic London meat and fish markets line up Royal Docks move |url=https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2025/12/03/iconic-london-meat-and-fish-markets-line-up-royal-docks-move/ |access-date=3 December 2025 |work=Construction Enquirer |date=3 December 2025}}</ref>

===Demolition and development plans===
[[File:Red house smithfield.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''Red House'', built 1898, formerly a cold store.]]
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. The [[City of London Corporation]], the ultimate owner of the property, has been engaged in public consultation to assess how best to redevelop the disused property and regenerate the area. Former property developers Thornfield Properties had planned to demolish the historic site and build a seven-storey office block, offering {{convert|350000|sqft|m2}} of office space, with a retail outlet on the ground floor.<ref>[http://www.urban75.org/london/smithfield-market.html General Market, Smithfields Market], Urban75</ref>

Several campaigns, promoted by [[English Heritage]]<ref><!-- please do not change the URL as this is the permanent identifier of the article-->{{Cite web |year=2008 |title=Market Values – Smithfield: present, past & future |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/smithfield |access-date=24 March 2009}}</ref> and [[Save Britain's Heritage]]<ref name="save" /> among others,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Curran |first=Paul |date=20 November 2006 |title=Demolition of Smithfield Market sparks protest |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/11/20/smithfield_feature.shtml |access-date=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearman |first=Hugh |date=31 October 2004 |title=Smithfield is easy meat for developers |work=The Sunday Times |url=http://www.hughpearman.com/articles5/smithfield.html |url-status=dead |access-date=28 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002224332/http://www.hughpearman.com/articles5/smithfield.html |archive-date=2 October 2007 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> were run to raise public awareness of this part of London's Victorian heritage. Grade II [[listed building]] protection was approved for the ''Red House Cold Store'' building in 2005 by [[Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport|Culture Secretary]] [[Tessa Jowell]], on the basis of new historical evidence qualifying the complex as "the earliest existing example of a purpose-built powered cold store".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Department for Culture, Media and Sport |date=3 March 2005 |title=Decision Announced To Give Listed Building Protection To Red House Cold Store In Smithfield Market |url=http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/media_releases/2963.aspx/ |url-status=dead |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506184015/http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/media_releases/2963.aspx |archive-date=6 May 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Whilst the market continues to trade, its future remains unclear following  a major public inquiry in 2007, instigated by Planning Minister [[Ruth Kelly]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 2006 |title=Public inquiry into market 'regeneration' |work=Islington Gazette |url=http://derelictlondon.com/id954.htm |access-date=28 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820111611/http://www.derelictlondon.com/id954.htm |archive-date=20 August 2007}}</ref> The public inquiry concerning the proposed demolition and redevelopment of the General Market Building was held between 6 November 2007 and 25 January 2008. In August 2008, [[Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government|Communities Secretary]] [[Hazel Blears]] announced that planning permission for the General Market's redevelopment had been refused, stating that the threatened buildings made "a significant contribution" to the character and appearance of [[Farringdon, London|Farringdon]] and the surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 August 2008 |title=Smithfield market plans refused |work=[[BBC News Online]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7547439.stm |access-date=9 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 August 2008 |title=Smithfield Soul Saved |work=[[English Heritage]] |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.14257 |access-date=24 August 2008}}</ref>

On 12 October 2012, [[Henderson Group]] unveiled its £160 million plan for redeveloping the western side of the Central Market. Henderson proposed that the fish market, General Market and Red House buildings, all over a century old, be demolished to make way for restaurants, retailers and office buildings, while they would restore and retain much of the market building's original perimeter walls, with a new piazza being created in the General Market.<ref>{{Cite news |title=£160m makeover at Smithfield |work=[[Evening Standard]] |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/160m-makeover-at-smithfield-8209164.html}}</ref> [[Marcus Binney]] of the campaign group [[Save Britain's Heritage]] said: "This proposal constitutes the worst mutilation of a Victorian landmark in the last 30 years."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bill |first=Peter |date=26 April 2013 |title=Plenty to beef about with Smithfield plans |page=50 |work=[[London Evening Standard]]}}</ref>
[[File:Smithfield Market 2023 01.jpg|thumb|right|Construction work in 2023]]
Some of the buildings on Lindsey Street opposite the East Market were demolished in 2010 to allow the construction of the new [[Elizabeth line]] station at [[Farringdon railway station|Farringdon]]. The demolished buildings included ''Smithfield House'' (an early 20th-century unlisted [[François Hennebique|Hennebique concrete]] building), the ''Edmund Martin Ltd.'' shop (an earlier building with alterations dating to the 1930s), and two Victorian warehouses behind them.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 2006 |title=SAVE highlights threatened London buildings |work=Sapling newsletter |url=http://www.sapling.info/newsletter/200606_london.shtml |access-date=17 January 2008}}</ref>

In March 2015, the [[Museum of London]] revealed plans to vacate its Barbican site at 150 London Wall and move into the General Market Building.<ref name="ML"/><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Dubois |first1=Anna |last2=Prynn |first2=Jonathan |date=27 March 2015 |title=Museum of London going ahead with £70m move to Smithfield |work=[[London Evening Standard]] |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/museum-of-london-going-ahead-with-70m-move-to-smithfield-10138884.html |access-date=31 March 2015}}</ref> The Barbican site closed on 4 December 2022, to prepare for the subsequent move.<ref>[https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/west-smithfield/relocation-west-smithfield "Museum of London to close in December to prepare for relocation to West Smithfield in 2026"], on ''museumoflondon.org.uk'', accessed Dec 2023.</ref><ref name="ML">[https://museum.london/ "A new museum for London"], on ''museum.london'', accessed Dec 2023.</ref> The foundation stone for its new West Smithfield site was unveiled on 16 October 2023, with the reopening of the museum at the new site still planned for 2026.<ref>[https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/news-room/press-releases/foundation-stone-unveiled-new-london-museum-principal-construction-works-begin "Foundation stone unveiled for the new London Museum as principal construction works begin"], ''Museum of London Newsletter'', Monday 16 October 2023, accessed Dec 2023.</ref>

==Cultural references==
===Words and phrases===
*''Smithfield bargain'' originally referred to a deal in which the purchaser was exploited. The term later came to mean (in reference to the meat market) a marriage of convenience, one to the groom's financial benefit. In this context it was also known as a ''Smithfield Match''. Still later the term came to be used to refer to improper dealings, such as when MPs allowed their vote to be bought.<ref>Brewers Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable, Russ Willey, Chambers 2009</ref>
* ''Smithfield Races'', an alternative name for the old horse market. It originated in the distant past, when there was horse racing at Smithfield. Although the racing ceased as the surrounding area steadily developed, the name continued to be used for a long time afterwards.<ref>Brewers Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable, Russ Willey, Chambers 2009</ref>

===In film===
Episode 1 of ''[[Espionage (TV series)]]'', "The Incurable One", (broadcast in the UK on 5 October, 1963), includes footage of [[Steven Hill]], and [[Ingrid Thulin]] walking towards, through, and out of the market into the area.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Smithfield-meatmarket-large.jpg|The ''Central Market'' and ''Grand Avenue'' from the south
File:Grand Avenue Smithfield market.jpg|The entrance of the ''Grand Avenue'' from the south
File:Inside Smithfield market II, EC1.jpg|Inside the ''[[Smithfield Poultry Market|Poultry Market]]''
File:Market interior.jpg|Market interior
File:Smithfield Meat Market abandoned 1.jpg|The ''General Market'' (now abandoned)
File:Smithfield Meat Market abandoned 3.jpg|Inside the ''General Market'' (now abandoned)
File:East Poultry Avenue Smithfield market.jpg|East Poultry Avenue
File:Butchers' Hall (London).jpg|Butchers' Hall
File:St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, London EC1 - Cloisters - geograph.org.uk - 1142485.jpg|St Bartholomew the Great Priory Church's cloisters and Barts Hospital
File:St Bartholomew the Less, St Bartholomews Hospital, West Smithfield, London EC1 - geograph.org.uk - 1140929.jpg|St Bartholomew the Less & Barts Hospital
File:St John's Gate 2007 5.jpg|St John's Gate
File:CharterhouseEC1.jpg|Charterhouse Square
File:Port of london com.jpg|The ''[[Port of London]] Authority'' building
File:Cold storage 1.jpg|The former ''Central Cold Store'', currently a power station
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Farringdon Without|Farringdon Without Ward]]
* [[List of markets in London]]
* [[List of people executed in Smithfield]]
* [[Wife selling (English custom)|Wife selling]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sale of a Wife in Smithfield Market |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1539686&partId=1 |website=British Museum}}</ref> appeared in satire as occurring at Smithfield Market, during the 18th century.<ref>Menefee, Samuel Pyeatt, ''Wives for Sale: An Ethnographic Study of British Popular Divorce'' (N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1981 ({{ISBN|0-312-88629-2}})), p. 201 (author anthropologist).</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation |title=London |volume=2 |publication-date=1842 |editor-last=Charles Knight |chapter=Smithfield |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/londonkn02kniguoft#page/312/mode/2up |publication-place=London |publisher=C. Knight & Co. |editor-link=Charles Knight (publisher)}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Thornbury |first1=George Walter |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2 |title=Old and New London: Volume 2 |last2=Walford |first2=Edward |publisher=Cassell, Petter & Galpin |location=London |publication-date=1878 |language=en |chapter=42: Smithfield |author-link=George Walter Thornbury |author-link2=Edward Walford |access-date=14 January 2021 |chapter-url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp339-344 |via=[[British History Online]]}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}{{wikisource|A Monument of French Folly|''A Monument of French Folly'' by Charles Dickens}}{{Commons category|Smithfield, London}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090401074946/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/corporation/LGNL_Services/Business/Markets/smithfield_meat_market.htm Smithfield Market page] on the City of London website
*[http://www.victorianlondon.org/markets/smithfield.htm Victorian London: Smithfield Market]: literary quotations about Smithfield.
*[https://lost-years.argent.photos/portfolio/smithfield-market/ Smithfield Market in pictures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026084205/https://lost-years.argent.photos/portfolio/smithfield-market/ |date=26 October 2019 }}: A portfolio of black-and-white photos featuring the market and the people who worked there in the earlier 1990s.
*{{OS coord|531823_181756_region:GB_scale:10000|Map and aerial photos}}

{{City of London}}
{{London markets}}
{{London landmarks}}
{{Queen Mary University of London}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Smithfield, London| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the City of London]]
[[Category:Execution sites in England]]
[[Category:London crime history]]