Borough Market | Premier Food Market London | Dallaswear
Posted by Callum McCrimmon on 1st Jan 1970
Borough Market
Situated in the London Borough of Southwark, Borough Market has a history dating back over one thousand years. It is located a stone’s throw from London Bridge. It is believed that the market arose around the mid 990’s when the first medieval bridge was built to connect London with the area to the south of the Thames. At this time London was a walled city. It wasn’t long before fishermen, farmers, bakers and hawkers of all description realised the opportunity to sell to those travelling the new route in to London. The unofficial market was in direct competition with markets within London and by the 1270’s City authorities banned it’s citizens from crossing the bridge in to Southwark to buy goods.
The land on which the market stood was owned by the crown. It wasn’t until 1406 that restrictions were eased by Henry IV. In 1550 restrictions were lifted further when Edward VI sold control of Southwark to the City of London. By the 16th century the market was patrolled by bailiffs who oversaw the rules and regulations of the time. They enforced price control and inspected goods. Some of the regulations at the time seem quite bizarre now. One such rule was that fishwives were not allowed to sit down!
In 1754 it was decided that the market was becoming a nuisance, blocking the only route from the south in to London. It was announced that the market would have to close by 25th March 1756.
Local residents were outraged. Eventually Parliament agreed to allow the relocation of the market and to grant it independence from the City.
As the capital grew so did the market. The arrival of the railway, population growth and further urbanization saw the opportunity for the market to flourish. The market had become an essential part of London’s food network.
By the 1970’s, however, the market was in decline. There was huge competition in the form of the new Covent Garden Market and the establishment of our modern supermarket chains.
The 1990’s saw the revival of the market. Artisan food businesses moved in to the area and in 1998 a three-day Food Lovers’ Fair was held. The fair brought together high-quality food producers from across the whole of Britain. The success of the fair indicated that there was a market for high quality produce and the market has gone from strength to strength ever since.
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It is now open six days a week with produce from around the world. Such is its renown it is visited by tourists from all over the world.
There is street food from Taiwan, Cyprus, Mexico, India, Iraq and Malaysia to name but a few and stalls with excellent quality produce from countries as varied as Spain, Italy, Grenada, Switzerland, Russia, Scotland, France, Japan and England. It’s hard to imagine anywhere else in the capital with such diverse fayre on offer in one place.
Beautifully decorated at Christmas it’s a great place to visit to absorb the atmosphere, indulge in some delicious street food or search for the perfect gift for the food lover in your life.
The market continues to thrive and adapt to this day. I have visited regularly over the years and loved sampling the delights on offer from great quality fruit and veg to fantastic meat produce including venison, guinea fowl and ostrich. There are amazing fish stalls offering such a wide variety of fish. Bakers who produce beautiful cakes and sweet treats. I would often visit with the intention of bringing home some brownies. The only problem was deciding whether to purchase from the same stall holder as last time because it was so delicious or try a sample from one of the other stall holders. There are stalls selling artisan bread, fudge, pies of all description, butter, pickles, chocolates, the list is endless. There are several cheese makers, there were often cookery programmes being filmed in the market which was interesting to see.
London is now in a major lockdown due to coronavirus which has obviously affected the market but it is still open with restrictions. Unfortunately, as I do not live in the area it will be some time before I will be permitted to visit there again. Takeaway food is still available but must be eaten off site.
Borough market has an excellent website which tells you everything you need to know about the market and the restrictions that apply at the moment. According to the website takeaway food is still available but must be eaten off site. I notice on their website that there is now an online ordering service. Entre your postcode to find out if you are within their delivery area.
The website also has a lovely selection of recipes, a digital cookbook club, podcasts and a list of traders. Until you can visit yourself why not make a virtual visit via the website? It’s the perfect way to familiarise yourself with what the market has to offer. Maybe treat yourself to something nice via the
online delivery platform and look forward to visiting in person when it is safe to do so.
ADDRESS :
BOROUGH MARKET
8 Southwark Street
London
SE1 1TL
