The Market

After the opening of the Piazza in the mid 17th century, stalls of market traders hawking fruit and vegetables became an established feature. In 1670, the 5th Earl of Bedford recognised the business potential - and obtained the right to hold a market by Letters Patent from King Charles II.

In the eighteenth century - as the market's popularity and size grew - the aristocracy that had owned and lived in Jones' houses around Covent Garden began to gravitate to more fashionable new developments in Soho and Mayfair.

In the nineteenth century, responding to the rapid commercial growth, the 6th Duke of Bedford started works that would rebuild the market. In 1828-30, the old stalls and sheds were cleared and Bedford commissioned architect, Charles Fowler, to erect a neo-classical Market. The Market employed more than 1,000 porters at its peak. In 1860, a new flower market was constructed on the south-east side that now houses the London Transport Museum. In 1872, the 9th Duke oversaw the enclosure of the Market with a new roof. It is the building that stands today.

In 1904, a foreign flower market was opened on the south side - now known as Jubilee Hall. At the end of the Great War in 1918, the ownership of the Market passed from the Bedford family to the Covent Garden Estate Company. In 1962, it changed again to the Covent Garden Market Authority. Traffic congestion and ever-larger delivery vehicles meant that the writing was on the wall for the Market at Covent Garden. In 1964, an Act of Parliament was passed that would clear the way to the removal of the fruit and vegetable market at Covent Garden to new premises at Nine Elms. In 1974, the traders moved out and the site was acquired by the Greater London Council.

Most of the surrounding area was earmarked for complete
redevelopment - but public outcry resulted in the Secretary of State for the Environment listing over 250 buildings to protect them. In 1975, the Greater London Council began major restoration work on the central Market building. In 1980,
to great public acclaim, Covent Garden Market re-opened as Europe's first speciality shopping centre. Its subsequent success story as a major London attraction is by now part of recent history. After the abolition of the GLC, the Covent Garden Area Trust was set up in 1988, charged with
special powers under its 150 year lease to ensure the continued long-term architectural conservation and economic success of this important landmark. The Market, Piazza and surrounding buildings, including the Transport and Theatre Museums and the Jubilee Market Hall are currently owned by the Covent Garden Market Limited Partnership (Scottish Widows and Henderson Global).