Of course, our first days here were spent walking, walking, walking. On Boxing Day, we took the Tube up to Old Street in Hackney. We found the Columbia Rd flower market - an entire street closed down to traffic and set up with stands. Despite being a rather cold day, there were plenty of people out gathering their cheery bits of flowers. It was a fun experience walking through while the merchants shouted things like, "two for a fivah!" After the flower market, we stopped for a quick hot chocolate and made our way on foot down thru Brick Lane on to Spitalfields Market. Brick Lane is simply a row of shops during the week, but on weekends street merchants take over. It's all food, clothes, and bootlegged DVDs... and sometimes trash. I will admit, it was a bit weird to see someone picking trash out of the bins and placing it on a blanket to sell. I felt like buying something just to give the person some change and throw the thing back in the bin. Spitalfields was an "outdoor" market on a grande scale. Rows and rows of merchants selling higher-quality goods. The market tradition in that area began in the 13th century, in the field next to the hospital and priory of "St. Mary's Spittel." Popularity grew after the Great Fire of 1666 as well as the edict of Nantes. The current market building was established in 1893.
To learn more about Spitalfields and the important influence of immigrants in this area, go to:
To see our route, go to:
Dear Traveling Matt and Rebekah-
ReplyDeleteThank you for the history notes about Spitalfields and the link to further information! They are quite enriching. An understanding of history is critical to us all--it gives perspective to the present.
Love you,
The Jersey Parents