Borough Market is an institution in London and along with other famous landmarks the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, its history chroncicles the development of a city.
Two centuries after the original Market moved another was founded in Long Southwark and Edward III transferred ownership of it to the City, with permission to hold a market three days a week. Here the market stayed for nearly 300 years.
After a fire broke out and the market was burnt to the ground in the eighteenth century, the city tried to close the market, but due to the resilience of the citizens of Southwark, the Market’s life in High Street was extended for another eighty years.
In 1755 the Market was terminated by an Act of Parliament, but the residents of Southwark successfully petition to start another market. They raised
£6,000 and bought the area known as The Triangle which, with additions, is where the Market is still held today.In 1801 the whole market was covered over and by 1870 its appearance had been transformed by a glass and iron structure with twin arches and a dome. In 1897 the roof was sacrificed by the railway company’s need to widen the line.
Borough Market operates as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market and retail market. The wholesale trade takes place every night from 2am to 8am, except on Saturdays. The retail market is open on Thursdays from 11am to 5pm, on Fridays from 12pm to 6pm and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm.
According to Chris Denning, Marketing Manager of Borough Market, there are approximately 6 ‘traditional’ wholesale fruit and veg traders and approximately 120 retail traders at the Market.The Market consists of three areas, namely Middle Road; the Green Market area and the Jubilee area. The Green Market is situated beneath the railway bridges and in the shadow of the Southwark Cathedral and many of the Market’s patrons make their way to its grassy surrounds after they have shopped for lunch.
There are also a host of shops and restaurants which surround the Market and are located in Stoney Street, Park Street and Bedale Street. Sit down at Café Brood for a barbeque lunch or eat a generous portion of traditional fish & chips at Fish Kitchen.
When arriving at the Market your first thought is likely to be: drinks. The Market boasts a host of options, with many stalls specialising in quencing your thirst.
These juices of Chegworth Valley Juices are hand selected and farm pressed in Kent. The company offers a wide variety of apple juices (including Bramley, Russet, Discovery, and Cox) and unusual combinations like Apple & Beetroot, Apple & Elder flower and Apple & Rhubarb. At the stall you can also buy fresh fruits, jam, chutneys and soft fruit plants. A large cup of juice will cost you
£1.50.If you are looking for something more to get the day started, try the coffees of the Monmouth Coffee Company. Monmouth offers a wide selection of beans from all over the world including Asia, Africa and South America, all hand roasted by the company itself. You can buy the beans by weight and if you so wish they can be ground while you wait. Otherwise just try a hot cup of coffee for £2.30. Everyday a different bean is used for the brew, “depending on what tastes good,” says the company.
If coffee is not your fix, go right next door to the Ceylon 1 stall. Here you will find organic,s easonally picked, fairtrade teas from Sri Lanka. The company has 8 different flavours on offer including: Earl Gray, green Earl Gray, Vanilla, Pure Ceylon, Orange Pekoe, Green Tea, Green Tea Orange and Chai. Have a cup at the stall for
£1.50 or take a tin of leaves home for £4.00. Tea infusers and tea filters are also available at the stall if you choose the latter option.If you’re about to sit down with your lunch and you are craving for a beer, try the interesting selection at the Utobeer stall. This company sources beer from all over the world through 20 different suppliers and by importing themselves. “Name the country, we’re probably stocking beer from there,” they claim. Beers on offerincludeonesfromsmall British breweries, hard to get hold of Belgium beers and rare German beers. An interesting ale on offer is Flying Dog from a brewery in Maryland, US. All the labels on the Ale are drawn by British cartoonist and caricaturist, Ralph Steadman, best known as the illustrated for the Gonzo author Hunter S. Thompson.
If meat is what you are after, try the Furness Fish, Poultry & Game Supplies. They can supply stuffed chicken, duck, black pudding, pigeon, pork, venison, rabbit and hare. Their most well known product is probably their Bowland sausages. These sausages are hand made using natural skin and the meat is sourced from the outdoor reared pork.
At the Furness Fish Market you can find all things from the water, including crab, shrimp, langustines, kippers, salmon, trout, swordfish, squid, lobster, rock oysters and Orkney razor clams. The stall owners recommend the Scottish hake steak (at
£18.5/kg) and the Whitby cod steak (at £15/kg).For those vegans in the crowd the market also offers a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, try Turnips or if you want to grap something quick to eat right there visit The Veggie Table for veggie burgers, curries and salads.
Borough Market offers food from all over the world. Taste the Fresh Chimichurri Sauce from the Argentine Folklore stall or browse around Brandisa Spanish Foods and discover ham from Iberico black pigs. The Parma Ham Co. specialises in Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella from Italy.
When the after lunch craving for something sweet hits, Borough will not dissapoint. At the Cranberry stall you can buy an endless amount of treats including baklava and Turkish delight. Try the Bird Nest Baklava (
£4.75 for 250g) or the extra pistacio Turkish Delight (£3.99 for 250g).As with any establishment offering good food and drink, Borough Market suffers from its own popularity. Reviewers often complain of bustling crowds and long queues at certain stalls. Visitors to the Market amount to approximately 2000 people on a Thursday, 5000 on a Friday and 10– 15000 on a Saturday. Some also lament the exuberant prices of many of the goods. Their advice? Try and go early or explore the stalls on the fringe of the market. Also, try and eat a big sized English breakfast before you go, ensuring that you won’t be tempted to splurge.
The market even has its own cookbook “The Borough Market Cookbook: Meat and Fish” written by Sarah Freeman and Sarah Leahey Benjamin. You can also do some further reading on the Market with “The Borough Market Book: From Roots to Renaissance” by Ptolemy Dean, Sheila Dillion and Henrietta Green. Also pick up a copy of Market Life, a free Borough Market quarterly with many features on food and drink, Q&A’s and some recipes.
