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The Metropolitan Cattle Market: How Islington Replaced Smithfield's Live Trade

Prince Albert opened the 75-acre market in 1855, and its clock tower still rises over Caledonian Park.

What Was the Metropolitan Cattle Market?

The Metropolitan Cattle Market was London's main live cattle market from 1855 until 1963. It stood at Copenhagen Fields in Islington, north of the city center, and replaced the crowded live trade at Smithfield. Its tall clock tower still stands in what is now Caledonian Park. The Wikipedia article on the Metropolitan Cattle Market gives the outline, and a local history piece fills in the details.

Why Smithfield's Live Trade Moved

Apollo magazine notes that the Smithfield Market Removal Act of 1852 led to the live cattle market moving to Copenhagen Fields in Islington. In 1855 Bartholomew Fair was closed permanently, which reinforced the end of the old Smithfield era. Moving live animals out of the City to open land on the northern edge was meant to ease crowding and the sanitary problems of driving herds through central streets.

Smithfield stayed as the site for the dead meat trade, while the live animals went north.

Building and Opening the Market

Prince Albert officially opened the market in 1855. The Corporation's architect, James Bunstone Bunning, designed it on a 75-acre site. According to the article at Past in the Present on the Islington market, market days were Mondays and Thursdays.

A 46-metre white clock tower, visible from miles away and now a listed building, rose from the middle of the site. The Electric Telegraph Company had offices in it.

The Key to Why It Mattered

The market mattered because it moved a messy, dangerous trade to a place built for it. The documented record points to the main reasons it succeeded for more than a century.

The details of costs and conditions for drovers and animals are not covered in the sources reviewed here, so this profile does not describe them.

  • It was purpose-built on a 75-acre open site, rather than a medieval market squeezed into the City.
  • It had a designated architect, James Bunstone Bunning, and an official opening by Prince Albert, which signaled royal and civic backing.
  • It ran on a fixed rhythm, with market days on Mondays and Thursdays.
  • It handled very large numbers: George Birch reported that on some Mondays over 15,700 animals were exhibited for sale.
  • It had a landmark tower that doubled as a telegraph office, tying livestock trade to fast communications.

Market Days and Numbers

The article reports that on Mondays the numbers sometimes passed 15,700 animals exhibited for sale, according to George Birch, writing around 1896. It does not say how many were actually sold on a typical day, so the figure should be read as a count of animals present rather than sales.

A bric-a-brac market also operated on the site and moved to Bermondsey after the Second World War.

Closure and Caledonian Park

The markets closed in 1963 after years of decline. The site is now Caledonian Park, with woodland around the edges, sports pitches and tennis courts across a road. Apartment blocks have been built around the green area. The railings and three of the four former pubs remain, though the pubs are now residential.

The clock tower is the most visible reminder of the market and is a listed building.

Learn More

For related history, read about the older history of Smithfield that preceded this market. For stories on beef and livestock markets, visit the agribusiness section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about livestock markets.

Timeline

  1. 1852Smithfield Market Removal Act passes
  2. 1855Market opens at Copenhagen Fields, officially by Prince Albert; Bartholomew Fair closed
  3. 1896George Birch reports over 15,700 animals on some Mondays, about this date
  4. After World War IIBric-a-brac market moves to Bermondsey
  5. 1963Cattle markets close
  6. TodaySite is Caledonian Park, with the listed clock tower

Frequently asked questions

When did the Metropolitan Cattle Market open?

It opened in 1855, officially opened by Prince Albert, on a 75-acre site at Copenhagen Fields in Islington designed by the Corporation's architect James Bunstone Bunning.

Why was the Metropolitan Cattle Market built?

The Smithfield Market Removal Act of 1852 moved London's live cattle trade out of Smithfield to Islington, leaving Smithfield to concentrate on dead meat.

When did the Metropolitan Cattle Market close?

The cattle markets closed in 1963 after years of decline. The site is now Caledonian Park, and the 46-metre clock tower remains as a listed building.

How many animals did the market handle?

Market days were Mondays and Thursdays. George Birch reported around 1896 that on some Mondays more than 15,700 animals were exhibited for sale, though that is not a sales count.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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