History

Leadenhall Market has been a site of commerce since Roman times, originally forming part of Londinium’s forum and basilica, the commercial and administrative heart of the Roman city.

In the 14th century, the area became a market again when a lead-roofed manor house (from which Leadenhall gets its name) was repurposed as a trading space.

In 1408, the site was acquired by Richard ‘Dick’ Whittington, then Lord Mayor of London, and in 1411 it was gifted to the City of London Corporation, who have overseen the market ever since.

The Market Building

For a time, Leadenhall rivalled Smithfield as a meat and poultry market. However, by the 19th century, the presence of hides and meat was seen as incompatible with the emerging financial district. As a result, the City Architect, Sir Horace Jones, was commissioned to design a more "respectable arcade" for the poultry market.

The current ornate, glass-roofed building was constructed in 1881 at a cost of £99,000, with an additional £148,000 spent on surrounding infrastructure. Jones, who had previously designed Smithfield and the earlier Leadenhall markets, drew inspiration from Mengoni’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan for the new arcade. However, the irregular ground plan reflects the constraints of medieval rights of way that shaped the site.

The architectural style is eclectic: the Gracechurch Street frontage is modelled after 17th-century Dutch houses, while the central crossing features an octagonal base rising to a square dome. Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described the entrance lettering as “gloriously commercial as a circus poster” and noted the City’s “dragons cheekily squeezed in.” The building is richly decorated with stamped and carved details in vibrant colours, and many shopfronts still retain the original spiked racks for hanging game.

Leadenhall Market is now home to a number of boutique retailers, restaurants, cafes, wine bars and an award-winning pub.  Its atmospheric architecture have also made it a popular filming location, featuring in movies such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Leadenhall Market Roman Basilica

The forum was the commercial heart of Roman Londinium. The second-century complex, built between AD 120 and 125, stood on the highest ground in the City. Its northern side was occupied by the great basilica, which functioned as both town hall and law court. Measuring 170 feet in length, remarkably, it was longer than St Paul’s Cathedral and was the largest known basilica of its kind north of the Alps.

During construction in 1987, part of the forum’s remains was discovered at 21 Lime Street. These are visible today in the basement of one of Leadenhall Market's restaurants.