Stratford Market

{{Short description|Former East London fruit and vegetable market}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Stratford Market''' was a [[Wholesale marketing of food|wholesale fruit and vegetable market]], located in [[Stratford, London|Stratford]] in the [[London Borough of Newham]]. Opened in 1879 by the [[Great Eastern Railway]] as a competitor to [[Old Spitalfields Market|Spitalfields Market]] in the [[City of London]], the market closed in 1991 and consolidated at the [[New Spitalfields Market]] in [[Leyton]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=History of New Spitalfields Market|url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/supporting-businesses/business-support-and-advice/wholesale-markets/new-spitalfields-market/history-of-new-spitalfields-market|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-26|website=[[City of London]]|language=en}}</ref> The site is now home to [[Stratford Market Depot]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stratford {{!}} Stratford Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Market. 1954.|url=https://www.newhamphotos.com/p607709718/h1D7A4C0D|access-date=2020-08-25|website=London Borough of Newham - Photos|language=en-US}}</ref>

== History == [[Stratford Langthorne Abbey]], a [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] monastic abbey was founded in 1135 on the site. The abbey survived until the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution of the monasteries]] in 1538.<ref>{{Cite web|title=West Ham: Stratford Abbey {{!}} British History Online|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp112-114|access-date=2020-05-28|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> In 1879, the [[Great Eastern Railway]] opened a new wholesale fruit and vegetable market at Stratford to rival [[Old Spitalfields Market|Spitalfields Market]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Cherry, Bridget.|title=London. 5, East|date=2005|publisher=Yale University Press|others=O'Brien, Charles., Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1902-1983.|isbn=0-300-10701-3|location=New Haven, CT|oclc=57431801}}</ref> and the nearby railway station was renamed [[Stratford High Street DLR station|Stratford Market]] on 1 November 1880. To serve this market, a large goods depot was located south of the station on the western side of the railway line. Additionally, a coal depot served the Patent Victoria Stone Works.

In 1907 the market depot became the centre for the distribution of bananas in London with [[Fyffes]] and Elders both having depots on the site.<ref name="Watling 4–5">{{cite journal|last=Watling|first=John|date=January 1985|title=London Goods stations of the Great Eastern Railway Part 3|journal=Great Eastern Journal|issue=41|pages=4–5}}</ref> The railway depot closed in the 1960s although the sidings were used for storage of withdrawn rolling stock for a number of years afterwards.<ref name="Watling 4–5"/>

After 112 years, the wholesale market closed on 13 May 1991, moving to a new purpose built site in [[Leyton]] - [[New Spitalfields Market]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1991|title=The Traders' Tale; Monitor - Local Arts|url=https://www.londonsscreenarchives.org.uk/title/2653/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-28|website=London's Screen Archives|publisher=London Borough of Newham|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Today == [[File:Stratford Market Station.JPG|thumb|The former Stratford Market station]] The market buildings and sidings were demolished in 1992 to make way for the [[Stratford Market Depot|Stratford Market Jubilee line depot]].<ref name=":0" /> To commemorate the former use of the site as a fruit and vegetable market, the new facility was named after the old market.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Mitchell, Bob, C. Eng.|title=Jubilee Line extension : from concept to completion|date=2003|publisher=Thomas Telford|isbn=0-7277-3028-2|location=London|oclc=51945284}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book|last=Bennett, David.|title=Architecture of the Jubilee Line Extension.|date=2004|publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers|isbn=978-0-7277-4577-4|oclc=935052993}}</ref> Other areas of the site are in industrial and commercial use. The nearby railway station reopened as part of the [[Docklands Light Railway]] in 2011 as [[Stratford High Street DLR station|Stratford High Street]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=2011-08-31|title=New £211m DLR Olympic route opens|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-14727813|access-date=2020-06-24}}</ref>

== External links ==

* [https://www.newhamphotos.com/?q=Stratford%20market Historic photos of Stratford Market], [[London Borough of Newham Heritage Service]]

== References ==

[[Category:Food markets in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Wholesale markets in London]] [[Category:Stratford, London]] [[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in London]] [[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1992]]