Bermondsey Market
Encyclopedia
Officially called New Caledonian Market, Bermondsey Market is an antiques market located at Bermondsey Square
Bermondsey Square
Bermondsey Square is located on Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey, part of the London Borough of Southwark, in south London, England. The location was formerly the site of the 11th century Bermondsey Abbey....

 on Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...

, part of the London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...

, in South London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The location was formerly the site of Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as an 11th-century foundation, it had a precursor mentioned in the early 8th century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermondsey Market, Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast...

.

The site underwent redevelopment in 2006 and the Market remained open during this period.

History

The Caledonian Market moved to its current location in 1950 after the old Caledonian Market
Metropolitan Cattle Market
The Metropolitan Cattle Market in Islington, north London was built by the City of London Corporation and opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert...

 site in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

 was designated for redevelopment in the late 1940s.

Marché ouvert

The opening hours of the Bermondsey Market from 6am until noon (some sources say 4am until 2pm) reflect the ancient law of market ouvert
Marché ouvert
Marché ouvert or market overt was an English legal concept originating in mediaeval times governing subsequent ownership of stolen goods.In general, the sale of stolen goods does not convey effective title...

, which was abolished in 1995. Under this law, in number of designated markets, including Bermondsey Market, if an item was sold between sunset and sunrise then its provenance could not be questioned, so stolen goods could be traded and good title would pass to the purchaser. To quote Minister for the Arts Estelle Morris
Estelle Morris
Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, PC was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley from 1992 to 2005, and served briefly in the Cabinet as Education Secretary.-Early life:...

 in July 2003 during the Second Reading of the Dealing In Cultural Objects (Offences) Bill:
I did not have information about marché ouvert in the deep recesses of my mind, but experts reliably inform me that it no longer exists. The hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall
John Randall (UK politician)
Alexander John Randall, known as John Randall, is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, and is the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.-Early life:...

) will be surprised to learn that it has been abolished only recently. It used to exist in designated markets, including Bermondsey. I am sure that the promoter will be interested in telling the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...

) about that. In it, items could be sold before sunrise. Believe it or not, in this land of ours, people could sell stolen—my officials put "dodgy" in brackets, but we do not use that term—objects. I assure hon. Members that it has been abolished. I hope that that deals with the fears of the hon. Member for Uxbridge.

External links

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