Smithfield, London

Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield,^[1] is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England.

Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartholomew's Hospital and livery halls, including those of the Butchers' and Haberdashers' Companies. The area is best known for the Smithfield meat market, which dates from the 10th century, has been in continuous operation since medieval times,^[2] and is now London's only remaining wholesale market. Smithfield's principal street is called West Smithfield.^[3][4] Each summer, from the 12th century to the 19th century the area hosted Bartholomew Fair, and the area also contains the City's oldest surviving church building, St Bartholomew-the-Great, dating from 1123 (most City churches were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666).

The area is located just beyond the New Gate and formerly its prison which held condemned prisoners. In former centuries, especially prior to the establishment of Tyburn, the area bore witness to many executions of heretics and political rebels,^[5] as well as Scottish knight Sir William Wallace, and Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants' Revolt, among many other religious reformers and dissenters (later on, public executions were generally moved out to Tyburn, until being moved back to the prison).

The present Smithfield Market, a Grade II listed-covered market building, was designed by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones in the second half of the 19th century, and is the dominant architectural feature of the area.^[6] Some of its original market premises fell into disuse in the late 20th century and faced the prospect of demolition. The Corporation of London's public enquiry in 2012^[7] drew widespread support for an urban regeneration plan intent upon preserving Smithfield's historical identity.^[8]