Auction crowds battle for meat at London’s Smithfield market saved from closure

Meat lovers gathered at Britain’s oldest market for its annual pre-Christmas auction for the first time since its survival at a new location was confirmed.

The ancient Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market have been a part and parcel of London since medieval times, when they first opened 800 years ago.

One of Smithfield’s annual highlights is the pre-Christmas auction spectacle, which attracts crowds trying to secure chunks of meat for a bargain that butchers have not sold for the festive period.

Inside the London meat auction

The auction is not for the faint of heart as would-be buyers waving cash crowd around the traders, who throw sizeable chunks of meat to the crowds.

While buyers can secure quality produce from the traders, the event has also become an annual show, with people turning up dressed in festive outfits like turkey hats and signs.

Although the event is called an auction, in reality, there is no bidding to raise the price. It is just cold, hard cash and a level of trust as people forward the money to the butchers on stage who send back the meaty purchase.

This year, the butchers reportedly sold out in just over two hours.

One happy buyer, a former London restaurateur, said she comes every year, and this year, she said she managed to secure ‘what looks like a leg of pork.’

Greg Lawrence, the owner of family butchers G Lawrence Meat at Smithfield, said: ‘We’ve been doing this over 40 years. My father started it to clear meat, but now we buy meat in.

‘It has gotten bigger and bigger every year and it’s been extended to make it a proper event.

‘We sell products ranging from the best beef – ribs, top slice, rumps – Welsh lamb, English pork, at a third of the price, maybe the same price as the bottom supermarket.’

Despite the market’s long history, Smithfield and Billingsgate faced an uncertain future when the City of London Corporation, which runs them, considered whether to shutter the markets for good.

Then a proposal to move the markets to Dagenham at a cost of £1 billion was suggested last year before it was abandoned, throwing the fate of the markets – and dozens of traders – into limbo.

But now the Corporation has announced the markets will be moved to a new spot in Newham, east London, on a disused island near the City Airport, pending approval from Parliament and planning permission from the Newham Borough.

Meanwhile, the Grade II listed Smithfield market site in Farringdon will be revamped, with London Museum already aiming to move to another part of the complex. The Billingsgate fish market complex is set to become much-needed apartments on the edge of Canary Wharf and Poplar.

Commenting on the proposal, the City of London Corporation’s policy chairman, Chris Hayward, said: ‘We are investing in London’s future. By following through on our commitment to support Traders to relocate, and to ensure our plans for new housing and culture at the vacated sites come to fruition, we are laying the foundations of future economic growth across the Square Mile, London and the UK.

‘Redeveloping the current market sites will contribute billions of pounds in economic growth, thousands of new jobs and thousands of new homes. There’s a lot more to do – and a developer to be agreed – but this is undeniable progress.

‘We are excited for the future, and by ushering in a new era for these historic markets, we’re creating a win-win for Traders and Londoners. I look forward to sharing more progress as these plans take shape.’

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