London's 850-year-old food markets to close
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Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#2> The decision to close the markets and offer traders compensation was made by the Corporation's Court of Common Council.
> The Corporation will now have to file a Private Bill in Parliament as it seeks to absolve itself of the legal responsibility of running the markets.
The Corporation in this case is the Corporation of the City of London, which is the local government authority for the City of London, which is only the part of London that is within the walls of Roman Londinium. The Parliamentary Bill may very well not pass, in which case the Corporation may be in something of a pickle.
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#3This makes me deeply sad. I use to live near to the market on St Johns Street, which is a direct route to the Smithfield. There was once a burst water main that serviced a nearby hospital that caused St Johns Street to be closed down as the flood uncovered bones which needed to be excavated and investigated. They eventually were identified as cattle bones which were a few hundred years old, from when the road was nothing but dirt and would have hundreds of animals pass along it on the way to the market for sale and slaughter.
It's also a beautiful and historic building and site.
I'm not sure what led to the decision to close it, but I can only assume it was for commercial interests of some form, and will eventually be turned into souless apartments, and the surrounding businesses, bars, pubs and nightclubs will also fall into decline.
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#4> The original market first traded in Lower Thames Street in the City in 1327, before moving to its current site in Poplar, east London, in 1982.
So the "850 year old" food market is actually a 42 year old market, and will likely continue to operate from a different location as it has done many times in the past.
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#5> The original market first traded in Lower Thames Street in the City in 1327, before moving to its current site in Poplar, east London, in 1982. So the "850 year old" food market is actually a 42 year old market, and will likely continue to operate from a different location as it has done many times in the past.
The market as an institution is 850 years old; the building that currently houses that institution is 42 years old. The market is not a place; it is the activity in which people engage in that place.
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#6> The original market first traded in Lower Thames Street in the City in 1327, before moving to its current site in Poplar, east London, in 1982. So the "850 year old" food market is actually a 42 year old market, and will likely continue to operate from a different location as it has done many times in the past.
The market as an institution is 850 years old; the building that currently houses that institution is 42 years old. The market is not a place; it is the activity in which people engage in that place.
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Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#7> The original market first traded in Lower Thames Street in the City in 1327, before moving to its current site in Poplar, east London, in 1982. So the "850 year old" food market is actually a 42 year old market, and will likely continue to operate from a different location as it has done many times in the past.
No, this was a bit confusing. I think this may have been talking about Billingsgate, the fish market. Smithfields is a meat market, and has been at that site in one form or another for hundreds of years.
Edit, to help clarify as other comments also appear to get this wrong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithfield,_London#Market
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#8Need a City quant PhD to invent a mathematical analog of Black-Scholes [1] for pricing and trading the irreplaceable value of culturally significant physical spaces to future generations. Then City-like [2] institutions can compete financially for ongoing preservation rights, rather than a one-time chop shop auction.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%E2%80%93Scholes_model
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#9> "It means there’s no fish market for London, which would mean the populace of London would have to resort to using local fishmongers"
I mean, or Tesco?
Re: London's 850-year-old food markets to close
#10> "empowers traders to build a sustainable future in premises that align with their long-term business goals"
After referencing my corporatese translation book, I believe this means "Traders can get fucked we have money to make."