History & Heritage
Columbia Road Flower Market
The Origins Of Columbia Market.
In 1869 Angela Burdett-Coutts established Columbia Market as a covered food market with several hundred stalls. Angela also built the separate U-shaped Columbia Dwellings building along with a three-storey Gothic arch built into the brickwork of the central section.
The building was demolished in 1958, although the remains of railings can be seen in front of the Nursery School. Sivill House and the Dorset Estate replaced the Coutts buildings. Angela’s husband William Burdett-Coutts came to own the market and had grand plans to sell fish there by building a railway line to the market in order to connect it to the coast. However, his plans did not come to fruition due to his competitors at Billingsgate. The market then closed in 1886.
The Flower Market.
Originally, Columbia Road flower market was a Saturday trading fair. However, because of the rising requirements of the local Jewish community, it was eventually transferred to Sundays. This provided an opportunity for traders in Covent Garden and Spitalfields to sell any leftover stock from Saturday's trading.
The East End's love of cut flowers and plants stemmed from Huguenot French immigrants, who also had a thing for caged songbirds — the Birdcage tavern at the end of the market is named after them.
Columbia Road Flower Market suffered during World War II as a result of the demand for food production, and during the night of Saturday, September 7th, 1940, a big civilian shelter beneath the market was hit by a German bomb.
With the growing popularity of gardening programmes in the 1960s, the market experienced a new renaissance.
Columbia Road Flower Market Today.
Every Sunday from 8am to 2pm, the market is open. Traders begin setting up their stalls as early as 5:30am. Plants, bedding plants, shrubs, bulbs, and freshly cut flowers are all available at affordable prices. Many of the traders are selling at the market for the second or third generation of their families.
Bread and cheeses, antiques, garden accessories, exotic international foods, soap, candlesticks, and Buddhist artefacts are all available in the market.
The Jesus Green Hospital Estate encompasses a large portion of Columbia Road.