Smithfield market has been in the same site since it was established over 800 years ago. It is the only great London market not to have moved out of central London. Up the street to the left of this building is the fully restored and working meat processing market which supplies inner city butchers, shops and restaurants daily.This is the abandoned general market of Smithfield, which was built in 1883. At the end of World War II, a V2 rocket struck at the north side of Charterhouse Street, near the junction with Farringdon Road (1945). The explosion caused massive damage to the market buildings, extending into the railway/underground tunnel below, and over 110 casualties. It has been under threat of demolition for a long time but after many years of lobbying by various heritage groups it appears that it may be granted a heritage grading that will see it saved and eventually restored.
