Farringdon market

An illustration of Farringdon Market from the frontispiece to the book 'Journeys through London, or, byways of modern Babylon' by James Greenwood, undated, c.1873. The market, between Farringdon Street and Stonecutter Street, opened in 1829 but did not thrive, other than being the main market for the sale of watercress in season. By the time Greenwood was writing, Farringdon Market was near to closure. Walter Thornbury in 'Old and New London' volume 2, page 497 (1878) records that: 'At a meeting of the court of Common Council, held on the 29th of June, 1874, to consider the advisability of reconstructing the market, it was stated that the receipts during the last five years had only averaged £225. No wonder, then, that the court exhibited very little inclination to expend more money on a site which, exceedingly valuable as it would prove for other purposes, seems little suited for that of a market.'