Stall Tales: London’s Street Markets Past, Present, Future

London has had markets, stalls and vendors in its streets for over a thousand years, serving generations of people with fresh food and consumer goods.

The markets are central to many London communities and historically have brought people together to socialise as well as buy their groceries. The markets carry the tradition of independent and enterprising stall holders, many with intergenerational experience in the markets. And they welcome newcomers to London with familiar produce and access to opportunities in work or business.

Stall Tales is about celebrating and making visible the history of the street markets of London. Please get involved by:

Sharing your stories and memories of the street markets.
Sharing photographs of the markets, old and new.
Telling us what you value about the markets’ distinctive characteristics.

Our team will be visiting street markets and hosting pop up 'history stalls'. If you see us, please say hello! We need you to help us to explore how the markets’ history can be mobilised to help them to thrive.

Why now?

2027 will mark one hundred years since London’s street markets — which at first were unofficial and unlicensed — were formally accepted and recognised by local authorities.

It will be 160 years since a proposed new law threatened to sweep the markets off the streets completely and was only prevented by campaigns and protests.

We think the history of the markets deserves to be better known and now is a good moment to make that happen.

Stall Tales in Lewisham

Street markets are central to their communities, particularly in Lewisham where the market dates back to the 1890s. It survived attempts by the Council to clear it in the early twentieth century, as well as devasting bombing during the Second World War. The descendants of many of those first licensed to trade in Lewisham market in the 1930s still work there now and the market is an enduring part of the area’s local character.

Supported by a National Archives Engagement Grant and UCA's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account, we’re working with Lewisham Heritage Archives to make the history of Lewisham’s market visible. Evidence for the market’s history exists in the formal council records in the Lewisham Heritage archives, and in the (untapped) memories and family histories of the stallholders.

Get involved!

Please join us for a creative workshop about Lewisham Street Market's history. We will share stories and photos from the archives and have creative activities for you to engage with. Do you have memories of shopping in the market? Have you worked in the market, or do you have a family connection with someone who worked there? We invite you to bring along any stories, images or memorabilia you have about the history of Lewisham's market.

When:

Thursday 23^rd April, 2-4 pm
Saturday 23^rd May, 11 am-1 pm
Saturday 9^th June, 2-4 pm

Where:

Catford Library, 23-24 Winslade Way, Catford Centre, SE6 4JU

To book your place, please email us at designarchresearch@uca.ac.uk

The Stall Tales team will also be in the Lewisham Market running a History Stall across the spring and early summer, so please pop by for a chat about the market and to learn about its history!

More from the project

Our people

Professor Victoria Kelley

Professor Victoria Kelley is a historian whose work is always about the everyday lives of (extra)ordinary people. She has written about laundry, cleaning and housework and how nineteenth-century mothers used cleanliness to show how they cared for their families. She has explored shops and shopping, from the co-op to the cash register. And, in 2019, she published Cheap Street, the first full-length history of the street markets of London. Victoria brings to the Stall Tales team her love of market histories, and of markets; in thirty years living in London she has shopped at dozens of markets, and been a regular customer in Berwick Street, Hildreth Street, East Street and Lewisham High Street. Victoria works at University for the Creative Arts.

Dr Rachael Johnson

Dr Rachael Johnson is a historian who explores the origins of England’s very first seaside resorts. Inspired by a long-standing love of Jane Austen’s novels, Rachael’s research focuses on the leisure lives of the Georgian England’s upper and middle classes, with a particular emphasis on spas and seaside resorts as fashionable centres for leisure, pleasure and health. After working as a Senior Lecturer in History at Kingston University, in 2023 Rachael joined the Research and Innovation team at the University for the Creative Arts, where she works to support the research community.

As part of the Stall Tales research team, Rachael brings a knowledge of the world of eighteenth-century fairs and markets, and an enthusiasm for understanding how people use similar spaces today as spaces for leisure and consumption.

Camille Serisier

Camille Serisier is an artist whose work explores the power of visual storytelling as a force for social change. Camille tells her own stories using drawing, performance and photography. She also works with community groups, researchers, art centres, educators, museums and theatrical performers to help other people share their stories and discuss existing narratives. Camille is currently a doctoral candidate at the University for the Creative Arts with the assistance of a Vice Chancellor PhD Studentship in Photography as part of Fast Forward: Women in Photography.

As part of the Photo-histories of the Street Markets of London research team, Camille brings to bear her experience as a socially conscious photographer and participatory researcher. She is working with other members of the research team to co-design creative engagements for the various communities who are part of London Street Markets. As an immigrant, Camille is interested in London Street Markets as sites for cultural and social exchange.