Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Leadenhall Market

Anyone noticed what a beautiful structure Leadenhall Market in Gracechurch Street in the City of London is? I first discovered it when I was at art school and did a project doing on-the-spot drawings of London Markets, most of which have closed, or at least moved location, like Covent Garden fruit and veg market and Billingsgate fish market.
The market dates back to the fourteenth century. It's open Monday to Friday and sells fresh foodstuffs. Among the vendors are cheese-mongers, butchers and florists. Originally it was a meat, game and poultry market (my drawing from 1967 shows a poulterer's premises - Butcher & Edmonds - sadly are no longer in the market, but are still going in a new location in the East End). A bit worrying that my drawing more closely resembles the engraving (left) from 1881 rather than the current photographs!
The ornate roof structure, painted green, maroon and cream, and the cobbled floors of the structure designed in 1881 by Sir Horace Jones (also the architect of Billingsgate and Smithfield Markets) make the building a popular tourist attraction.
It was used to represent the area of London near 'The Leaky Cauldron' and 'Dragon Alley' in the film 'Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone', and is featured in the film 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'.










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