LEADENHALL MARKETCONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER SUMMARY

Department of Planning & Transportation

Fron

t Cov

er P

ictu

re: L

eade

nhal

l Mar

ket

Opp

osite

: Lea

denh

all M

arke

t

1

Leadenhall Market Conservation Area Character Summary

This conservation area summary of character identifies key characteristics of the area and particular planning considerations.

In the City of London the present urban form and character has evolved through many centuries and is the product of numerous influences and interventions: the character and sense of place is hence unique to that area, contributing at the same time to the wider character of the City. It is inevitable that the present knowledge and information is incomplete, and in the interests of brevity only the principal characteristics of the area are identified here. A more comprehensive appreciation of history and character of the City of London and the nature of conservation area character (with particular reference to the City) are addressed in Conservation Areas in the City of London, A General Introduction to their Character.

Each conservation area character summary should be read in conjunction with the General Introduction to enable a potential appreciation of any matters of possible importance in relation to any building, site, street or area. The role of such elements in the character and appearance of any area within the City of London will vary, and will be appraised in the light of particular proposals for alteration, extension or development. It is prepared in the light of national legislation, policy and advice provided in particular by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and PPG 15 Planning and the Historic Environment 1994, and planning policies for the City of London contained in the City of London Unitary Development Plan 2002.

© C

ity o

f Lon

don

2006

ISB

N 0

852

03 0

48 7

32

Leadenhall Market

32

Location and Boundaries

Leadenhall Market Conservation Area lies to the eastof the Bank Conservation Area and to the south ofLeadenhall Street.

The close-knit historic townscape of the LeadenhallMarket Conservation Area contrasts sharply with thelarger scale of the surrounding east-west thoroughfares,Leadenhall Street and Fenchurch Street and the mainnorth-south route through this part of the City,Gracechurch Street. The Conservation Area has itshistoric and townscape focus, Leadenhall Market,a building listed for its special architectural or historicinterest, and includes parts of Lime Street andCullum Street both ancient lanes which remainintimate in scale.

The market building itself forms the northernboundary of the Conservation Area. It is boundedto the west by the market entrance and adjoiningbuildings in Gracechurch Street and to the south byFenchurch Street. The eastern boundary is definedby a short length of Cullum Street where the samecharacter is still evident. The Leadenhall MarketConservation Area lies within the Wards ofBishopsgate, Lime Street and Langbourn.

Designation

The area was designated on 16th May 1991.

Gracechurch Street

Gracechurch Street

Cullum Street Lime Street

54

Lime Street Ward Plan 1772 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Area CharacterHistorical Evolution and Key Features

The Leadenhall Market Conservation Area stands onthe site of Cornhill, at the centre of the Roman town.In the early 2nd century, the Forum-Basilica wasrebuilt in this area. The east-west axis of the Basilicacuts across the north side of Leadenhall Market.Its function was civic administration and it servedas a market place.

In 1309 it became something of a market placeonce again. The Leadenhall was a lead-roofed mansionowned by Sir Hugh Neville, the grounds of whichwere used for a market for the benefit of his tenants.From this small beginning, Leadenhall became animportant commercial area.

Edward III, in an effort to stamp out the flourishingblack market in poultry existing at the time, compelled all traders to congregate in the same place.So “foreigners”, the name given to traders from outsidethe City, began to set their stalls in the shadow ofLeadenhall as business overflowed from the recognisedpoultry market at Cheapside - Poultry.

The City Corporation acquired the Lordship of theManor early in the fifteenth century. Leadenhall wasthe most important market in medieval London andtook precedence over Smithfield for meat and poultry.In Tudor and Stuart times Leadenhall Market was oneof the show places of London. Visitors from abroadcame to view the market and to wonder at its industryand prosperity.

An outline reconstruction of the 2nd - 3rd century Forum & Basilica and its relationship to the present day street pattern

MUSEUM OF LONDONARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICE

However, its success lead one memberof the Common Council to complainthat Leadenhall Street is “so throngedthat common passage is hindered”.As a result, the White Market (lamb andveal), was moved to Green Yard, wherethere were 140 butchers stalls with a rowof fishmongers shops and kitchens in themiddle. A herb market was added later.A map of the market of this time showsthe narrow approaches in detail, whichremain unaltered to the present day.

Towards the end of the 18th century, themarket for poultry grew at the expenseof that for meat and there was no roomfor the considerable hide market whichwas held there regularly in those days.

54

Despite its continuing importance and success as amarket, strenuous efforts were being made to have itremoved. The City Corporation finally bowed topressure from the City merchants and financiers whofound that the bustling Market with its crowded andunruly stalls compromised their dignity, and in 1871the Corporation obtained Parliamentary powers toabandon the hide and meat markets, and as acompromise the City Architect, Sir Horace Jones, wasinstructed to rehouse the market for poultry in a neatand respectable arcade.

In 1881, the current ornate glass roofed marketbuilding was constructed. The main elevation toGracechurch Street was built in a classical style with awide entrance and gable over. At the centre is anoctagonal crossing with a pitched roof and lanternsupported by giant Ionic cast-iron columns. The costof the building was £99,000, and the creation ofsuitable approaches to such a congested area was afurther £148,000. It overlapped in part, a series ofestablished rights of way which are perpetuated underits roof, explaining the Market’s crooked cruciformplan, and its use as a thoroughfare by people not havingimmediate business there. So, whilst the Marketactivity no longer spilled over Lime Street, the physicalconnections remained. Among the casualties of therationalisation of the new market were those who couldnot afford to rent stands; the most itinerant salesmen.

The Market soon developed its own character andatmosphere and proved hugely successful. During theinter-war years, much of the wholesale trade moved tothe London Central Poultry Market at Smithfield, butthe retail trade increased enormously to take its place.

Leadenhall Market 1950’s GUILDHALL LIBRARYLeadenhall Market 1930’s GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Leadenhall Market 1881 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Sir Horace Jones’ design and construction drawingsfor the Market

CITY OF LONDONRECORDS OFFICE

76

GUILDHALL LIBRARYOgilby and Morgan 1676-79

GUILDHALL LIBRARYRichard Horwood 1792 - 99

Undertaken when the reconstruction of the City was well underway, the Plan is “first large multi-sheet plan of a British town to be so delineated”, andis considered to be relatively accurate: plans before this had been aerial pictorial views. The plan shows the well-established market area with largeyards used as trading areas for each commodity. The present day street pattern is easily recognised with the main thoroughfares - Leadenhall,Gracechurch and Fenchurch Streets, the curving alignment of Lime Street, and Cullum Street feeding into the area.

The largest and most important London Map of the eighteenth century, although rather less precise. The market remains the dominant feature in the local area. As the market expands it begins to influence the character of the adjoining passageways. The market area becomes a dense network of alleyways as sheds are erected for trading. The limitations on space meant that some trade had to be curtailed, and poultry began to replace meat as the main trade.

76

GUILDHALL LIBRARYOrdnance Survey 1875

GUILDHALL LIBRARYOrdnance Survey 1930

The plan shows the congested market area shortly before rebuilding. Despite the dense network of passageways, the cruciform plan upon which SirHorace Jones based his designs, is apparent. Half Moon Passage was to become the main entrance axis from Gracechurch Street in the new market.Larger Victorian commercial buildings are evident in the area surrounding the conservation area.

The market building superimposed into the area, where its surroundings are little changed. The difference in scale, particularly to the west of Gracechurch Street is

reinforced by larger Bank buildings.

98

While today Leadenhall may be less frenetic, it remainsunmistakably a trading community and provides one ofthe main concentrations of retail activity in the City.In recent years, the City has been committed toa programme of improvements to the Market toenhance its intrinsic character. The most dramaticimprovement to the Market was the redecorationscheme in 1990-91, which transformed the Market’sappearance, enhancing its architectural character anddetail. The scheme received a special mention in theCivic Trust Awards 1994.

Leadenhall Market

The City continually encourages therefurbishment of shopfronts based on the tripartitepattern of the Victorian joinery, including thedecorative cast-iron ventilation grilles copied fromsurviving examples.

The main entrance to the Market is on Gracechurch Street. The double height entrance is flanked by tall, narrow gabled red brick and Portland stone blocks in a C17 Dutch style. The adjacent buildings to the south have a continuous retail frontage which is punctuated by entrances to pedestrian ways (Bulls Head Passage and Ship Tavern Passage) into the Market and the heart of the conservation area.

The frontage to Gracechurch Street, within the conservation area, terminates at its southern end with the Swan public house. Constructed in red brick, and set back from the main building line.

The Swan public house terminates the southern end of the Gracechurch Street elevation within the conservation area. It is set back from the main building line and contains the entrance to Ship Tavern Passage which runs beneath it.

The other Market entrances, from Whittington Avenue, Leadenhall Place and Lime Street Passage, although less elaborate than the Gracechurch Street entrance, are distin-guished by carved Portland stone pediments.

Leadenhall Market

CITY OF LONDON RECORDS OFFICESir Horace Jones’ design for shopfronts

Gracechurch Street

Leadenhall Market

98

Lime Street

Lime Street is known from the late 12th century.It remains physically linked to the Market and is stillintimate in character despite some post-war erosion.The narrow building plot widths survive on thesouth-west side. The small shops and pubs along itslength complement and extend the commercial activityof the Market into the immediate surroundings.

Bulls Head Passage

The pattern of narrow passageways within theconservation area has remained largely unaltered andcontinues to provide attractive and convenient routesfor pedestrians traversing this part of the City.The curving alignment of Lime Street and thenarrowness of the adjoining streets restricts viewswithin the area and helps to achieve an intimacy andhuman scale in a close-knit townscape.

The built fabric is generally 19th century with some20th century infills, of which 37-9 Lime Street bySylvester Sullivan is listed. This architect isparticularly well represented in the conservation area,as he also designed buildings in Gracechurch Streetand in Fenchurch Street. The Victorian buildings inLime Street are constructed predominantly of brick orportland stone. Whilst some of the later additions haveintroduced alien materials such as polished granite andtinted glass into the area, they have nevertheless, respondedto the building line and general scale of the streetreinforcing the medieval alignment and consistent scale(generally 4-5 storeys) of the street.

The relatively small scale, narrow building plot widths,continuous retail frontage and vitality in the elevationaldesign characteristic of much of Lime Street isperpetuated for a short distance along the neighbouringCullum Street and Fenchurch Street. Here, the twocorner buildings are particularly important as pivotalbuildings, allowing the shared character to flow fromLime Street to the adjoining frontages. Many of thebuildings in these streets have richly detailedcharacterful elevations and some have been muchaltered behind original facades thereby preservingsome fine facades and the character and appearanceof the area.

Lime Street

Fenchuch Street Fenchuch Street

Listed Buildings

81-82 Gracechurch Street1-36, 37-42, 43-57, 58-63, 64-74, 89-90Leadenhall Market27-The Ship Tavern, Lime Street37-39 Lime Street

Scheduled Monuments

Roman Wall in basement, 90 Gracechurch Street

Additional Considerations

The Unitary Development Plan states that Retailinghas a special role in a number of areas of the City suchas Leadenhall Market where shops and cateringfacilities contribute to the area’s “village atmosphere”,vitality and special character.

Most of the Conservation Area is defined as a“principal shopping centre” in the UnitaryDevelopment Plan.

The design of the shopfronts is an important factor inthe character and appearance of this ConservationArea. The Corporation is committed to encouraginghigher standards of shopfront design, where theshopfront is designed with due regard to the periodand architectural style of the building concerned.Within the Market building itself, shopfronts based onthe original design are gradually replacingunsympathetic frontages thereby enhancing thecharacter and appearance of the listed building.

The cruciform pattern of the Market building andits approaches allows for important local views intoand out of the Market. It is fortunate to have finefacades of listed buildings at 147 Leadenhall Street,7-12 Gracechurch Street and 37-9 Lime Streetterminating three of the “framed” vistas out of theMarket. However, other surrounding buildings havean equally important effect on the setting of theConservation Area, particularly those which align, andhelp to define the narrow approaches to the Market.

The Conservation Area is in an area of potentialarchaeological remains of particular importance.

1110

37-39 Lime Street

81-82 Gracechurch Street

27 Lime Street

1110

AcknowledgementsThe Design Section of the Department of Planning & Transportation would like to express its gratitude for the advice and / or assistance provided by the following organisations and individuals in the preparation of this series:

The Guildhall Library - Jeremy Smith, John Fisher.The City of London Records Office.

Illustrations identified below are reproduced with the kind permission of the following:The Guildhall Library: Pages 4, 5.The Museum of London Archaeological Service: page 4.The City of London Records Office: pages 5 & 8.

Several of the maps in this series on Conservation Area Character are based upon Ordnance Survey maps for the City of London with the sanction of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Crown Copyright Reserved.

All other illustrations were taken by the Design Team, Department of Planning & Transportation, City of London.

ReferencesThe brief quote in the reference to the Ogilby and Morgan plan is taken from the introduction to this series of maps by Ralph Hyde, Guildhall Library. Readers are also referred to the sources mentioned in the General Introduction to this series on the Character of the City’s Conservation Areas.

This series on the Conservation Areas of the City of London, is written and designed by the Design Team, Department of Planning & Transportation,Corporation of London.

© The City of London 2006.

Further Information and assistance:Department of Planning & TransportationCity of LondonP.O. Box 270 GuildhallLondon EC2P 2EJTel: 020 7332 1710plans@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/plans

Produced under the direction of:Peter Wynne Rees B.Sc, BArch, BTP, RIBA, FRTPI, FRSA.

The City Planning OfficerCity of LondonP.O. Box 270 GuildhallLondon EC2P 2EJ

Price - £2.50 inc.

12

Des

ign

by D

om S

tric

klan

d; p

rintin

g by

Ing

erso

ll P

rinte

rs L

td.

The City of London Corporation is the local authority for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the City of London. It is committed to maintaining and enhancing the status of the Business City as one of the world’s three leading financial centres through the policies it pursues and the high standard of services it provides. Its responsibilities extend far beyond the City boundaries and it provides a host of additional facilities for the benefit of the nation. These range from the Central Criminal Court, The Old Bailey, to the famous Barbican Arts Centre and open spaces such as Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath.

Among local authorities the City of London Corporation is unique; not only is it the oldest in the country, combining its ancient traditions and ceremonial functions with the role of a modern and efficient authority, but it operates on a non-party political basis through its Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Members of the Court of Common Council.

The City of London Corporation: a unique authority for a unique City.

ISBN 0 85203 048 7