MY LONDON LIFE: EAST STREET MARKET'S SCRUFFY SOUL
A journey around a historic, embattled SE London street market that is a magnet for migrants and mavericks.
We all have rituals in our lives – on a daily level I struggle to start the day without first drinking three cups of loose leaf tea – while my most dogged ritual is Saturday morning’s pilgrimage to East Street Market. For readers unfamiliar with south east London, East Street runs between the Walworth Road and the Old Kent Road, the market starting at the Walworth Road entrance and extending for almost a kilometre on both sides of East Street.
The market has existed here since 1880 – for decades it was referred to as “East Lane” (no idea why) – and Charlie Chaplin was born on East Street in 1889 into extreme poverty. The “little tramp” character that made him famous was, supposedly, based on people he observed around here. And his hatred of social injustice was shaped by the poverty and suffering he experienced across Walworth. Keeping things cockney comedy, if you’ve ever watched Peckham-set Only Fools & Horses, the market over which the title credits are displayed is East Street and, on occasion, Del Boy-style traders still set up and attempt to flog all manner of stuff here.
Arriving by bike – which I tend to lock outside the public loos on Portland Street - I stroll along East Street, checking what’s on offer as I stock up on my fruit and veg and nuts and seafood and anything else that takes my fancy. Its not only produce that gets sold here – I’ve purchased caps, socks, underpants, long johns, scarves, tops, shirts, shoes, children’s books, even a pair of cowboy boots.
I first shopped at East Street market not long after I settled in Camberwell, south east London, in 1994. Back then I was working part-time in market research so had little money (perfect training for being a writer…) thus East Street suited me. I’ve never stopped perusing it – although a sojourn in Stockwell in late-1995 surely kept me away for a time – and, as long as I live in SE London, aim to continue doing so.
That said, East Street market may not exist for that much longer – at least as a low-cost street market. As with almost all traditional street markets across the UK, the rise of supermarkets and online shopping has depleted the numbers visiting – post-pandemic East Street’s still not seen a return to the numbers who once shopped here.
The market is open Tuesday to Sunday, although Sunday is more house clearance junk on offer and fewer regular stalls). The fragmentation of what were once long settled communities also has depleted numbers – white flight to Kent and, more recently, the demolition of the huge council estates that reached from Elephant & Castle to Burgess Park (this is the district known as Walworth) - has ensured there are now fewer customers. This noted, those of us who live locally and make our weekly pilgrimage here love East Street.
Why do I shop on East Street with such regularity? Well, its very good value. Pretty much everything on sale here is cheaper than in the surrounding supermarkets and shops – this sometimes means the fruit/veg can be a bit battered/ripe – but there’s no hiding this, the traders let customers choose their own produce. Also, I like the human touch – you know, engaging with the market traders (and my fellow customers) in what tends to be friendly, often wry way.