Originally known as Smoothfield, it was a large open space just outside the city boundaries on the edge of St Bartholomew’s Priory. (The name meant a smooth plain – but the word eventually became known as smith, a corruption of the Saxon word smeth, which meant smooth).
In the Twelfth Century it was used as a vast recreational area where jousts and tournaments took place. By the late Middle Ages the area had become the most famous livestock market in the country.
There was also a murkier side to the area, because from the early Thirteenth Century it was used as a place of execution for criminals. Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasants’ Revolt, was executed here, as was Scottish hero William Wallace and of course, it was the location of Bartholomew Fair – three days of merrymaking, dancing, selling and music which over the centuries became the most debauched and drunken holiday in the calendar. Even so, it lasted almost 700 years before it was eventually closed in 1855.
MONDAY to FRIDAY mornings from
Midnight to 7am
Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays
The Market will be closed on 25 & 26 December and 1 January.
Further information on weekend opening will appear here soon.
Closure of Poultry Market
As part of an agreement with our landlords, the City of London, to relocate the Market to Barking and Dagenham, the traders left the Poultry Market building at the end of August this year. The building will become part of the new Museum of London. Smithfield Market contimues to trade from the two remaining Victorian buildings and will continue to do so until at least 2028.