Smithfield once sat just outside London's medieval wall. Then it was “Smeeth field” – taking the Old English word for smooth to describe the flat, open area which stretched west to the River Fleet. Smithfield was a livestock market until the 19th century.
Where was the Old Smithfield Market in Manchester?
At its peak in 1897, the market place covered four and a half acres in Manchester City Centre stretching from Swan Street in Ancoats in the north, Thomas Street in the Northern Quarter, Shudehill to the east and Oak Street to the west.
The corporation decided in a separate vote last November to permanently close Smithfield and Billingsgate when it pulled the plug on a planned £740m relocation to a new site in the east of the capital at Dagenham, blaming rising costs.
The announcement by the City of London Corporation in November that Smithfield market is to close after almost 900 years of trading has been met with surprise and dismay. Many Londoners fear Smithfield's special sense of place will be lost for good as a result.
The buildings, designed by City Architect Sir Horace Jones, were commissioned in 1866 and completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816. The Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Act also authorised the development of the Poultry Market which opened in 1875.
Smithfield Market started out in 1844 as stalls, then in 1853 an iron and glass roof was built
Where was the Old Smithfield Market?
Smithfield once sat just outside London's medieval wall. Then it was “Smeeth field” – taking the Old English word for smooth to describe the flat, open area which stretched west to the River Fleet. Smithfield was a livestock market until the 19th century.
In 1936, Joseph W. Luter and his son founded a small meat-packing company, The Smithfield Packing Company, along the tributary of the historic James River in the colonial town of Smithfield, Virginia.
Anyone can buy produce or products in Smithfield Market. The market is located in the City of London and is close to landmarks such as the Barbican, St Paul's Cathedral and St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Still, the news this week that Smithfield will close — its owner, the City of London Corporation, killed a plan to move the market to a new site in East London — came as something of a jolt to him.
Is London's 850 year old Smithfield meat market set to close?
The mainly covered market will close by 2028, said the City of London Corporation, explaining that it had dropped its plans to relocate it to Dagenham, in the capital's eastern suburbs, a project that had become "unaffordable" due to "external factors, including inflation and the increasing cost of construction." Since ...
The City Guides run walking tours of Smithfield for members of the public on a monthly basis. Hear how Smithfield meat market has changed throughout its 800 year history and experience its working life first-hand on this special tour.
Jason Holland. Billingsgate fish market – which is the oldest fish market in the U.K. capital of London and what was once the world's largest fish market – is set to close in 2028 after the City of London Corporation recently decided to withdraw its support.
The oldest meat and fish markets in London, which date back 850 years, are facing permanent closure from 2028. Smithfield meat market, near St Paul's Cathedral, and Billingsgate fish market in Canary Wharf are to be closed after the City of London Corporation voted to withdraw support for them.
Archaeological excavations at Colchester in Essex have revealed what may be the oldest market structures in England, dating back to the creation of the Roman town in the 1st century AD.
It has been confirmed that Dublin's Victorian fruit and veg market in Smithfield will finally reopen in 2026. The historic red brick building on Mary's Lane, between Capel Street and Smithfield, has remained empty since its closure in 2019 to facilitate redevelopment.
During the market's heyday, the mayor of Manchester was called Mackie, so one of the market's buildings was inscribed with his name. Originally used as a meat market, the building ran into disrepair during the 1970s and its future seemed to be in grave peril.
Dating back to a 1327 charter issued by Edward II, Smithfield is the oldest meat market in London, its proximity to the River Fleet and to grazing sources making it a handy place to bring livestock to trade.
If the plans proceed, the Smithfield site will become home to the new London Museum, while the land at Canary Wharf that will be unlocked by relocating Billingsgate could provide around 2,000 new homes, it said.
Smithfield Market is one of the oldest markets in London, primarily known for livestock and meat trading. However, it is not specifically a cloth market. The oldest cloth market in London is generally considered to be the 'Cloth Fair' which was established in the 12th century. Therefore, the statement is false.
New Smithfield Market is the largest wholesale market in the North West of England, occupying a 35 acre site just two and a half miles from Manchester city centre.
Smithfield Foods, Inc., is a Chinese-owned pork producer and food-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son, the company is the largest pig and pork producer in the world.
Do I need tickets for the Christmas Spectacular event? You don't need tickets to enter the market, but you'll need them for the Ice Museum, Ice Rink, and Big Wheel. We recommend booking tickets for the Ice Museum and Ice Rink online at christmasspectacular.ie to avoid missing out!
The Town of Smithfield was named after John Smith, “The Miller,” who was granted land by Roger Williams. Smith was one of the original party of six men headed by Roger Williams that formed the first settlement in Rhode Island.
On 26 November a decision was taken by the Court of Common Council to end the planned move of Billingsgate and Smithfield markets to a new location in Dagenham, and instead to provide financial support to the traders to enable them to move to new locations of their choosing.
Meat has been traded at Smithfield Market for more than 800 years, making it one of the oldest markets in London. A livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century.
