Camden Town and Markets

Camden Town is the district of London, England around Camden High Street, in the London Borough of Camden. It is also referred to as Camden. Camden Town is an inner-city district located on the northern side of the City of London. It is famous for its cro

Camden Town is the district of London, England around Camden High Street, in the London Borough of Camden. It is also referred to as Camden. Camden Town is an inner-city district located on the northern side of the City of London. It is famous for its crowded markets and its associations with popular culture, from the 1960s when the Roundhouse was a centre of alternative culture, and later associations with punk and Goth subcultures. The 'town' in the name is 18th century usage indicating a new development area: Camden is not separated in any way from the adjoining areas.

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Attractions

The Regent's Canal runs through the north end of Camden Town; its 8.5 mile towpath, which passes through London Zoo, is a pleasant and popular walk in summer. Boat trips along the canal, from Camden Lock, are also interesting. Many of the handrails by the bridges show deep marks worn by the towropes by which horses pulled canal barges until the 1950s, and there are still ramps up the canal bank near rail bridges to assist horses which have been startled by the noise of a train and fallen in. One of the many canal bridges, Macclesfield bridge, is known as "Blow-up bridge": it was the site of London's largest pre-war explosion, where a barge laden with gunpowder blew up in 1874.

Camden Lock is a traditional manually-operated double canal lock operating between widely separated levels. A large complex of weekend street markets has mushroomed there since the 1970s.

Not far away is Regent's Park, a large and pleasant park which was formerly Henry VIII's hunting chase. There are spectacular rose gardens in bloom in the spring, a boating lake, always-hungry ducks and geese, and several children's playgrounds. Conkers are plentiful in autumn. London Zoo is at the north of the park.

The Roundhouse is a railway building constructed in 1847 for the London and Birmingham Railway. It had various uses and eventually became derelict and was converted to a music venue in the 1960s. Since its re-opening in 2006 it has once again become one of London's leading cultural venues, as a theatre and music venue.

To the east of Camden Town station and running along the canal is a modern complex designed by Terry Farrell as the original studios of TV-am. The studios are now used by MTV but retain the egg cup sculptures along the roof line of original owners.

There are a great many shops, bars, restaurants and cafes. The area south of the tube station is typical of a London High Street; towards the north we find the markets and attractions typical of the area. There are a number of English language schools in the area.

Camden Square is a short walk away from Camden Town station and has a playground and dog walking area.

Camden street markets

The Camden Markets are a number of adjoining large markets in Camden Town near the Hampstead Road Lock of the Regent's Canal (which is usually called Camden Lock), often called collectively "Camden Market" or "Camden Lock". The stalls sell crafts, clothing, bric-a-brac, fast food, and other things. It is the fourth most popular visitor attraction in London, attracting approximately 100,000 people each weekend. It began in its present form in 1974 when the Camden Lock crafts market was formed. There was a small local food market in Inverness Street long before that; as of 2008 this market retains only three fruit and vegetable stalls in addition to stalls like those in the other markets.

The markets

Camden Market can be divided into six sections:

Camden Lock Market

Camden Lock Market is situated by the Regent's Canal on a site formerly occupied by warehouses and other premises connected with the canal. By the early 1970s the canal trade had ceased. At the time there was a proposal to build an urban motorway through the site, which made any major redevelopment impossible, so in 1974 a temporary market was established instead. By the time the motorway proposal was abandoned in 1976, the market was flourishing, and on its way to becoming the best known feature of Camden Town. Camden Market as a whole is now so popular that Camden Town tube station operates special entrance and exit rules on Sundays.

Camden Lock Market was originally a craft market, occupying some outdoor areas by the canal and various existing buildings. It attracted large numbers of visitors partly due to stalls being open on Sundays, while shops were not allowed to trade on Sundays until the 1994 Sunday Trading Act. Nowadays the range of goods has widened, with stalls selling books, clothing, second hand clothing and jewellery, but it is still the most craft-focused of the Camden Markets. There is a large selection of fast food stalls outside. A three-storey indoor market hall designed by architect John Dickinson opened in 1991. It is built of brick with a large amount of cast iron work in a traditional style, and is almost indistinguishable from the 19th century industrial architecture and housing in the area.

As of 2006 a large indoor market hall is under construction in a yard between the Camden Lock Market and the Stables Market, which was previously used for open air stalls.

In November 2007, a large part of the Stables Market was demolished as part of a long-tem redevelopment plan for the area. However the market is still going strong and still a thriving shopping area year-round.

Historic Stables Market

The Stables Market was the largest section of Camden Market. The market had been built in the former Midland Railway stables and horse hospital which served the horses pulling barges along the canal. Many of the stalls and shops were set into huge arches in railway viaducts.

It was a mixture of indoor and outdoor shops and stalls, some of them permanent, others hired by the day. Chain stores were not permitted. Like most of the other Camden markets the Stables Market had many clothes stalls. It was also the main home of furniture stores in the Markets, and many household goods and decorative items were also sold, many of them hand-made, and often ethnically influenced. Some of the goods were second-hand or twentieth-century antiques.

Another focus is on clothing and art pieces for alternative sub-cultures such as goths and cyber-goths. Two of the more famous of these shops are Black Rose, which cater for goths, with items for sale such as coffin-shaped handbags, and Cyberdog, which houses a huge range of cyber style neon PVC and rubber clothing. Other longstanding stores include;

ExtremeMetal - body jewellery
Spank Clothing - fetish wear
Collectif - rockabilly, 50s style retro clothing
Verve London - men's underwear, pet accessories
Ichi Pink / Phillip Normal - alternative & hand-made new-rave/kitch clothing and accessories
Famous Stars and Straps - T-Shirts

Whilst the Stables Market, and the Camden markets generally, have their roots in alternative sub-cultures, visitor numbers has became so high that Camden Town tube station is available only to incoming passengers on Sunday afternoons to prevent dangerous overcrowding of the platforms. Although both Chalk Farm and Mornington Crescent stations also give easy access to the market.

During the weeks leading up to Christmas in 2004, the high-profile radio DJ and TV presenter Chris Evans made use of a stall in the Stables Market to sell many of his possessions, ranging from sofas to TVs and crockery.

In the October 2006 a large indoor market hall was built in a yard between the Stables Market and Camden Lock Market which was previously used for temporary open air stalls.

In the summer of 2007 the back of the Stables Market is being redeveloped. This redevelopment will consist of two new four-storey buildings that will house shops, food outlets, offices, workshops and storage facilities as well as an exhibition space.

Through the redevelopment, there will be a new pedestrian route through the rear of the Stables Market exposing 25 of the existing railway arches. Pedestrian walkways - in the style of the existing historic ramp and bridge system - will open up the site and make it much more accessible to visitors. A glass roof and cycle parking spaces will be added.

Numerous rumours about popular chains such as Topshop, H&M and Starbucks moving in to replace existing independent traders have sparked a petition to the UK government and protest groups on social networking site Facebook. Public objections to the application from local residents, as well as deputations (supporting and opposing it) were presented to Camden Council. The Facebook protest and petition has caused a number of market traders to request more clarity. Rumours that the market is being demolished to be replaced by a shopping centre are feared to be damaging trade.

Many of the objections have ignored agreed restrictions on the size and design of the shop units. These restrictions were intended to suit independent traders and discourage high street retailers. Also the design of the scheme and the materials aims to ensure that the re-development complements the industrial nature of the site's existing Victorian buildings.

Cllr Dawn Somper, Chair of the Development Control Committee, Camden Council said: "We absolutely support the desire to preserve the independent and alternative attraction and feel of Stables Market - rather than it looking like a typical high street - and also its economic importance to the Camden Town area. On balance the committee felt that the design, size and heritage considerations of this application were a significant improvement on the previous consented planning permission."

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Camden Canal Market

The section along the canal to the east of Chalk Farm Road is known as the Canal Market. There is a covered entrance tunnel leading into a general outdoor market. The market was devastated by fire on 9 February 2008.

Buck Street Market

Outdoor market focusing on clothes.

There are a few stallholders who design their own wares though at the weekend these designs are more likely to be found in the Electric Ballroom market.

Electric Ballroom

The Electric Ballroom is one of Londons most famous night clubs and has been around since the 1950s. Many great names have played there. On Saturdays and Sundays this historic venue is open during the day to host an indoor market. Situated moments from Camden Town Tube station it is the 1st Market most people encounter on their visit to Camden. The Market attracts a wide range of traders selling an eclectic mix of day wear, clubbing wear, accessories, records, CDs, jewellry, retro and vintage fashion, arts, crafts, gothic and punk fashions, leathers, and unique designer items. The management pride themselves on attracting traders who have more to offer than the mass produced imports which have now come to dominate many of the other markets in Camden.

Inverness Street Market

A small street market. It once had many stalls selling fresh produce and foodstuffs, but now retains only three vegetable and fruit stalls amongst stalls like the rest of the markets.

Chalk Farm Road

Most of the shops in Chalk Farm Road sell alternative culture goods, and many of them operate with their frontages wide open in a semi market style.

As of 2006 a large indoor market hall is under construction in a yard between the Stables Market and Camden Lock Market previously used for open-air stalls.

The Camden Market area is famed as the stamping ground of many well known musicians, including Madness who bought their loafers at the British Boot Company, the first distributors of Doc Martens in the UK. Between 1976 and 1979 The Clash lived and rehearsed in one of the market's Mongool warehouses. There are several well known music venues nearby.

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2008 Camden Market Fire

On February 9, 2008 at around 7:20 p.m. a large fire broke out in the Camden Canal Market area on the north side of Chalk Farm Road. After crossing the railway line, the fire badly affected the rear of the Hawley Arms on Castlehaven Road, a pub in which Amy Winehouse made her name. Camden Lock Market and the Stables Market were unaffected by the fire and remained open. Winehouse mentioned the fire in her acceptance speech for Record of the Year at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. There were no casualties.

Railway services running above the market were disrupted. The fire was extinguished during the night, but the cause is still being investigated. Arson has officially been ruled out as a possible cause.

The fire was so intense that smoke and an orange glow in the night sky could be seen from the lower end of Arlington Road, about 250m away.

Notable places

The World's End has been a pub since 1778. Formerly known as "The Mother Red Cap" and later "The Red Cap", it is on Camden Road near Camden Town tube station and was featured in 1986 film Withnail and I.
The Underworld is a live music venue with a capacity of 500, located under The World's End.
KOKO, formerly 'The Camden Palace', is a major dance and rock venue on Camden High Street near Mornington Crescent tube station. The building hosted the famous Goon Show, and in 2006 hosted Channel 4's Album Chart Show.
Electric Ballroom, hosts weekly club nights and acts as a live music venue.

Places of interest

Camden Lock
Camden Lock Market and other street markets
Jewish Museum
London Zoo
Regent's Canal and its towpath
Regent's Park
The Roundhouse
St Pancras Old Church
St Michael's Church, Camden Town
Camden catacombs (see also Catacombs of London)
The unusual Sainsbury's supermarket in Camden Road was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw and built on the site of the former large ABC Bakery.

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Transport

Many bus routes serve the Camden Town area. Camden Town Underground station is close to the markets and other attractions; other stations are listed below. Black taxis ply for hire in the area, and there are minicab offices. Illegal unlicensed "taxis" tout for business on the street, particularly late at night when the Tube and most buses do not run; they often demand excessive fares and are not insured for hire services. In 2005 there were an average of ten sexual attacks and rapes on women by illegal minicab drivers throughout London each month.

Camden Town Underground station was not designed for the volume of traffic it handles since the area became popular. It is very crowded all weekend, and, as of 2008, is closed to outbound passengers on Sunday afternoons, the peak time, for safety.

London Underground has made many proposals to upgrade the station. In 2004 a proposal requiring the compulsory purchase and demolition of 'the Triangle' — land bordered by Kentish Town Road, Buck Street and Chalk Farm Road — was rejected by Camden Council after opposition from local people; of 229 letters, only 2 supported the scheme.

Nearby places

Nearest tube stations

Camden Town
Caledonian Road
Chalk Farm
Kentish Town railway and tube station
Mornington Crescent

Nearest railway stations

Camden Road
Caledonian Road & Barnsbury
Kentish Town railway and tube station
Kentish Town West

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