PUBS IN EACH CORNER
METROPOLITAN cattle MARKET CENTRE STAGE CALEDONIAN CLOCK TOWER
This spectacular example of Victorian design, & civil engineering can be found in the centre of the Caledonian Park, alongside Market Road in North London. This recreational green space, can be found but a short distance, from Caledonian Road Tube Station. Once revered for its high standards of build quality, the vision of Londons chief architect J.J. Bunning, its Italianate notes, made the Metropolitan Cattle Market a place of sheer wonder. Not only did this area have practical use for the specific slaughtering of animals, but I would have imagined, that many a slaughter man, drover, market worker, would have after a tiring days work in the market, enjoyed the experience of getting slaughtered themselves. The reason being, that in each corner of the market, you would find a pub. The pubs were named after animals connected to the market. These being, The Lamb, The White Horse, & The Black Bull, with the only exception being, The Lion. There was also one pub more suitable to the slaughter men, that being the Butchers Arms, found on the corner of Brewery Road, & York Way near Kings Cross Station.
PUBLIC HEALTH REQUIRES CAUSE FOR CHANGE
Smithfield market west smithfield london farringdon
The area in the City of London was once known as "Smooth Fields", this is where the name Smithfield derives from. The market dates back to the 10th century. Given its ease of access to grazing pasture & water, the area established itself as Londons livestock market. Cattle were driven form as far a field as Scotland, which could take anything up to 4 weeks, to journey to the Angel Islington, where the Drovers & the cattle would rest up, fatten up, gorging themselves, on the vast plethora of entertainment, provided for by the areas theatres, pubs & drinking dens, before being taken to market to be slaughtered, being devoured by an ever increasing meat thirsty population.
a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses
There has for over 800 years been a meat market at Smithfield. A visitor to London a William Fitzstephen, who was a cleric & administrator for Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th century whilst strolling through the area witnessed, quoting," I see a smooth field where every Friday there is a rendezvous of fine horses to be traded, & another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with deep flanks, & cows & oxen of immense bulk. As the population of the City of London grew two fold, the demand for fresh meat became relentless
public health outcry
Herding, driving large amounts of wild animals through a main thoroughfare became unbearable. Imagine the chaos, the smell, the noise the mess that accumulated of excrement, blood & guts that ran through the streets, from where they had been butchered in local slaughterhouses. Crowds of people bustling, shouting, quarrelling, the stench of unwashed market workers, the fowl smell of oxen, pigs, sheep, being corralled in such a confined space became a noticeable public health danger. A solution needed to be found & fast.
THE METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET
A NEW SITE IS DECIDED
It was decided by the City Authorities, that the location for the new purpose built, lavishly designed cattle market, would be granted at a place once known as Copenhagen fields. Unwittingly, this had two advantages, as to why the location was to be Copenhagen Fields. At the time, when the market would have been in operation, a main railway terminus was starting to flourish at Kings Cross. Livestock, instead of being driving vast distances on foot, would be transported to the heart of London by steam locomotive, walking but a short distance along York Way to market. The other reason is that Copenhagen Fields, was once a vast open space, that during the time of the French Revolution, was an ideal place, for people to gather in large gatherings, to protest against the government of the time, for better social standards of living, due to starvation, always being at war with the French, poverty, you name, it they protested about it.
danish ambassador visits james i
Imagine back to the 17th century. The area was just open fields, visible from the high vantage point, people would travel to relax, take in the fresh air, gaze out over the open vistas, church spires of Islington, & the City of London. It would certainly be completely different to the view you can see today, from the excellent advantage point, from the top of the clock tower. More or less, slap bang in the middle, where you would find the clock tower today, you would have found a large house. It is believed to have been used, by the ambassador of Denmark, as a hostelry for himself, & his entourage, when he visited London, at the invitation of King James I in 1606. It is also stated, that the ambassador was very wise, to remain in lockdown in the house, during the Great Plague of London in 1665. I just hope he had gathered enough toilet paper, to see him through this horrific period of history. I hope you surmised, this is probably how Copenhagen House, may of got its name, the connection with the Ambassador of Denmark I may add.
pleasure gardens to running track
By the time the middle of the 18th century had arrived, Copenhagen fields became a pleasure gardens, with the grounds of Copenhagen House being used as a tea garden. I believe the delicacy of the day, were scrumptious custard tarts. I believe, I hope, & pray that the cafe a stones throw from Caledonian Road tube station, still sells custard tarts, which I must say I have devoured with a few cups of coffee. I am not sure if they are aware of the connection, but I guess it is written in the stars, that the tradition continues. Animal rights activists would have had a field day, dog fighting & bear baiting entertained the crowds of the day. With the less blood thirsty revellers enjoying skittles, & a form of hand tennis called ,"fives". to keep themselves entertained
MASS DEMONSTRATION KINGS COACH ATTACKED
revolution liberty freedom
Many a large demonstration would gather at Copenhagen Fields. In 1795 the London Corresponding Society ( a group formed of local reading, & debating clubs, who rallied working class men & women, during the period after the French Revolution for parliamentary reform). A large crowd, estimated somewhere in the region of between 150,000 - 300,000 gathered to protest against mass hunger, forced conscription, & poverty, as the country was savaged by continuous threat of invasion by France, & the increasing influence of the French Revolution. The large crowd gathered, to sign a petition asking the government, to alleviate, universal male suffrage, by giving more say to lower classes, in how the country should be run. With passions running high, the inevitable happened, demonstrators who had gathered around the Houses of Parliament, took the opportunity to surround George III state coach, shouting, hurling abuse towards his direction. In an instance, a window is shattered in the furore. Was it a stone? Was it a bullet? William Pitt's government of the time seemed to think so. This assumption helped fuel the legitimacy of the passing of the Treason Act clarifying the act of high treason.
protest against transportation
Moving forward to 1834. Another mass demonstration gathered to air their views, supporting a group of 6 farm labourers, from the small Dorset village of Tolpuddle. It is estimated that between 30,000 - 100,000, demonstrators gathered at Copenhagen Fields, to protest against their arrest. The 6 men were tried, & convicted, for swearing a secret oath, as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The arrest came about, due to a dispute regarding the low wages they received, from the landowner, who they were working for. They became known as the," Tolpuddle Martyrs". The sentence for their conviction, resulted in their transportation to a penal colony in Australia. Following 2 years of protests from sympathetic campaigners, alongside the tenacity of Lord John Russell, a Liberal Party statesman, & former Prime Minister. Russell helped instigate a pardon that was given in 1836, for their return to the British Isles, between the years 1837-1839. This cause helped lay the foundation for early workers rights, & trade union movements.
CHARLES WESTHALL
the old cope activity exercise
When the heyday of the recreational Copenhagen Fields tearoom & public house had seen its course in 1835 a cricket ground was built often used being used as an athletics track a form of highland games during the 1840s Between 1850-1853 Copenhagen Fields was the home to Londons main athletic track. In 1850, legislation meant that professional running was to be banned from the roads. The owner a man named John Garratt, set a section of the cricket pitch aside, to facilitate an athletics track around the boundary of the cricket pitch. The most famous event that took place, during the period of time, Caledonian Fields was used as a running track, was by Charles Westhall. On 26th July 1852, in front of an enthusiastic crowd, cheering encouragingly, motivated him in his endeavour, to run a mile in a time of 4.28, which was the 1st sub minute mile run on a running track & this was without a pair of Nike running shoes. The running track ceased to continue when in December it was damaged by a severe storm.
J.B.BUNNING GETS THE GO AHEAD
J.B .Bunning City of London's architect during the early to mid 1800's, was appointed the task of designing a purpose built cattle market, to alleviate the bad un-hygienic conditions, that occurred at Smithfield at that time. In 1852, work began on building a meat market of sufficient size, to accommodate the slaughtering of animals, away from the city centre. Copenhagen Fields being the site chosen, suited the government of the time, because the space the new Metropolitan Cattle market would cover, prevented crowds gathering in protest against them. The site covered an area of over 30 acres, costing between £300,00-£400,000, the equivalent of around £3,000,000 in todays money.
grand opening by prince albert husband to her majesty qeen victoria
The grand opening of the Metropolitan Cattle Market, took place on the 13th June 1855, with the Prince Consort Albert, the husband of her Majesty Queen Victoria, making a fine speech in support of the project. Designed to resemble 16th century Italian renaissance architecture, a prime example being Venice, "Italianate", was a type of architecture, that inspired J.B. Bunning. This is definitely evident, in the spectacular example, in the design of the 46 metres tall clock tower, that still stands proudly in the centre of the cattle market, along side the 4 buildings that were pubs, in the corner of the market. Alas only 3 remain. The site, also proudly boasted a magnificent water fountain, that stood elegantly between two beautiful hotels, which were aptly named the, "Queens Arms", & the ," City Arms". These were demolished, the area becoming a place of solitude for local residents, in the form of a recreational garden. The slaughterhouses, were to the southwest, & southeast of the market. The market was enclosed by a wrought iron fence. At certain intervals of the fence, the sculptor John Bell, was tasked to design figure heads of cattle, sheep, & pigs, to sit proudly on top of plinths, set into the fence. Sadly, through the years these have disappeared, or should I say acquired. Apparently, an example of a bulls head from the fence, can be found at Islington museum.
designed to feed an ever increasing city of london population
The sole purpose of the market, was to fulfil the supply of fresh meat, to a city that was expanding, at an ever increasing rate. The market was designed for the slaughtering of animals, as the demand to devour succulent juicy cuts of meat, increased by meat ravenous Londoners, the business, was becoming ever more profitable. Across the vast 30 acre site, the design was advantageous, as it accommodated for both animal, & those that cared, & looked after them. During the markets heyday, it had stalls for 7 thousand head of cattle, alongside pens for 42,000 sheep. Another unique feature of the market, was the attention to detail given to the flooring. An estimated 3 million Staffordshire blue bricks costing around £60,000, were used to facilitate a streamlined form of drainage. The pavement underneath the pens of the animals, was sloped, meaning urine & manure would move through specially designed sluices to be stored, & kept for fertiliser, or washed away by leather hoses. These hoses were kept at a distance of 24.5 metres intervals, being used like a modern day water jet, to clean the effluence away, making the market a more hygienic, pleasant place to do business. This was far more satisfactory, to the public health officials, that put an end to all the muck & mire at Smithfield.
METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET
THE CALLY BRIC A BRAC A PLENTY
FROM TAILOR TO GROCER Y HEAVEN
JACK COHEN
Another famous character that has connections to the, "Peoples Market", is a gentlemen named Jack Cohen. Born to Polish Jewish immigrants, in Whitechapel East London, Jacks future was destined to become a qualified tailor, following in his fathers foot steps. However, Jack had other ideas, deciding he wanted to be part of the grocery industry, which caused friction between himself, & his father. The outbreak of World War I, put a dent into his ambitions, volunteering in 1917 to join the Royal Flying Core, where he was put to work using his tailoring skill, as a canvas maker used in making balloons, & other aircraft. Whilst travelling on a troop ship, carrying men & medical supplies to Alexandria, the ship named HMS Osmanieh hit a sea floating mine. A few days earlier, a German submarine the SM-UC 34, had laid the mine, at the mouth of the harbour. The troop ship sank in less than 7 minutes. In total 209 souls lost their lives. Thankfully for Jack, he was saved by a nurse, who managed to keep his head above water, to prevent him from drowning.
sunken but not down
After being de-mobbed in 1919 after contracting malaria, Jack could finally concentrate on pursuing his dreams. He slowly set about building his market stall empire, having several stall located in various London markets. These were a family run enterprise, with Jack being known to enthusiastically waiting, to pounce at the gates of the Cally Market. Once the gates were flung wide open, he would proceed to calmly take off his flat cap, throwing it into the market, to claim his pitch for the day. It was whilst trading, building up his business, that he became friends with a company that supplied tea. T.E. Stockwell was its name. From this friendship a partnership was born, the name given to this venture, used the the 3 letters T E S from the tea company, & the last two letters from the 1st 2 letters of Cohens surname C O. Surprise, surprise the multi-million pound grocery chain, "Tesco", was forged opening for business in 1924.
CALLY PARK AFTER WORLD WAR II
BOMB DAMAGED CLOCK CEASES TO CHIME
The outbreak of World War II brought about the end of the market, never to be re-opened after it shut down for business in 1939. The area around the clock tower sustained bomb damaged, from which time the bell stopped chiming. The area was also used to attract major fund raising events, to raise money for the war effort. Post war years the area was used to store army transport vehicles, the land was sold to Greater London Council. The land was cleared in 1965 of all remaining market structures with construction of a new social housing estate being constructed between 1967-69 towards the north of the clock tower, with the remaining surrounding area being open as a recreational area known simply as, " Caledonian Park". It was apparent that social housing was desperately needed in London, due to most of the housing being decimated, by the German Luftwaffe bombing campaign, during the blitz at the beginning of World War II.
VANDALISM LACK OF FUNDING
It was apparent that within a few years the design of the estate, alongside a lack of maintenance funding, residents were being terrorised by unruly gangs. An article published in the Daily Mail, explained that in 1981, a lady in her early sixties hired a bodyguard to protect her, when taking her dog for a walk, after being shot at with an air rifle, living in constant fear of her life. The tenant’s environment, was described at one point, like living in Beirut. The vandalism, unsociable behaviour, became so abhorrent, that in trying to rectify the situation, a state of the art £250,000 security system was installed. Unfortunately, the unruly youths, within a matter of hours, managed to break through the strengthened glass, totally trashing the system beyond repair. The gangs influence over the tenants, was so powerful that not one witness came forward to give evidence.
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCcEED
The only way to stop the burnt out cars, the intimidation, kids running amok, gangs spreading fear into the community, was total demolition after only 43 years after its inception. This decision was made, after a most horrific event happened in 2000. A 12- year old boy, named Chris Pullen, was tragically killed, when a vandalised fire door fell on him, fracturing his skull, sadly resulting in his death. To commemorate this tragedy, you will see a green plaque, above the road sign of Chris Pullen Way, in his memory.
Today the Caledonian Park is making full use of the allotted £1,873,300 the Heritage Lottery Award funded grant. Parkside Place, the residential development, to replace Market Estate, began transforming the area from 2007 .The park now boast a new cafe, heritage centre, semi-matured woodlands, short & long grass meadows, community garden, along with free to visit clock tower tours that have now resumed since the covid-19 restrictions have been lifted.
A TASTE OF HOW THE AREA AROUND THE CLOCK TOWER IS TODAY.
