This has to be my favourite London market!
It has an enormously rich and varied history dating back to the 300’s when it was originally the site of a Roman cemetery.
In 1197 ‘The priory of St. Mary of the Spittle’, a medieval hospital, was founded: the first part of the name ‘Spitalfields’ derives from the word ‘hospital’, which to the medieval mind was understood as ‘hospitality’, a place of rest as well as medicine.
A big leap forward now to when Jewish families first began settling in Spitalfields in the seventeenth century. In the 1880s, anti-semitic pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe triggered a major Jewish exodus, and thousands joined the existing communities in Spitalfields and Whitechapel.
Representing these districts was the Liberal MP Samuel Montagu, a well-liked philanthropist, leading banker, keen fly fisherman and devout Orthodox Jew. He was dedicated to the welfare of his new constituents, lobbying for their humane treatment and founding a number of shelters and working men's clubs specifically for their use.
He was chairman of the Spitalfields Benevolent Society, which was formed to help the area’s poorer inhabitants, and he founded the Federation of Synagogues. In 1907, Montagu was raised to the peerage and became the first recipient of the title Baron Swaythling.
The Jewish community thrived in Spitalfields for several decades before gradually moving towards the suburbs, a trend eventually accelerated by the heavy bombing of the East End during the Second World War.
Representing these districts was the Liberal MP Samuel Montagu, a well-liked philanthropist, leading banker, keen fly fisherman and devout Orthodox Jew. He was dedicated to the welfare of his new constituents, lobbying for their humane treatment and founding a number of shelters and working men's clubs specifically for their use.
He was chairman of the Spitalfields Benevolent Society, which was formed to help the area’s poorer inhabitants, and he founded the Federation of Synagogues. In 1907, Montagu was raised to the peerage and became the first recipient of the title Baron Swaythling.
The Jewish community thrived in Spitalfields for several decades before gradually moving towards the suburbs, a trend eventually accelerated by the heavy bombing of the East End during the Second World War.
I have been visiting the market for nigh on twenty years, and today, having been, until 1991 a fruit and veg market (that’s now moved to a purpose-built site in Leyton, east London), the market has been thoroughly renovated, a new roof (thank goodness they’ve fixed that. The times I've spent browsing and got wet from the leaks when it was raining outside and having to walk through puddles). It’s been expanded all the way through to Liverpool Street now with new shops and craft outlets with, of course, plenty of places to meet all eating requirements! Accents seem to be on Oriental street food.
I'm a huge fan of Harris Tweed!
Memo to Bart Simpson: Yes, you can have a cow!
Just opened after a complete gutting and refit is the Ten Bells pub. This place is noted (if that’s the right word) for having been associated with Jack The Ripper. Now run as a rather super new restaurant run by the self-styled Young Turks, we had a scrumptious dinner there. I thought that the standard mark-up of £10.00 whatever wine you purchased was a particularly appealing feature.
This is what the place looked like before the YT's took it over!
It's ahad a splash of paint on teh outside and the new interior is a whole new cosy thing with absolutely no matching furniture. Look out for the neon sign mysteriously imploring "Keep Me Safe".
More soon. Probably...
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