Crick Smith
Covent Garden Market
Built by the 6th Duke of Bedford as a fruit and vegetable market in 1828, Covent Garden Market is one of London’s most iconic landmarks. It is the best-preserved late Georgian market house in England and retains late Victorian cast iron sheds and has been the home of a major London market for 350 years
After the market moved out to Vauxhall in 1974, the area was redeveloped for use as shops and restaurants. The market was redecorated retaining some of the original shop fronts, and some replacement ones in keeping with the originals.
Crick Smith were approached to evaluate these schemes, and the work was completed in two phases:
Phase 1: The North & South Hall – research and analysis to determine the accuracy of this decoration
Phase II: The Central Arcade – further analysis to identify the original decorative schemes for the market, and to tie the two schemes together.
The research aimed at identifying the earliest evidence for decorative paint finishes on selected elements forming the market interior. The full decorative history for each element was also recorded. As there have been various historic developments of the market building, particularly during the second half of the C19th, these reference points were used to attribute fairly accurate dates to specific schemes within the paint strata. This enabled the scheme dating to the last major alterations of 1888-89, when Cubitt added the roof over the North area, to be re-instated, returning the market to its appearance at the time of the last historic period of structural development.
Projects
Contact us
Tel: 01522 895051
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Conservators by appointment to:
