This short-lived cattle and livestock market was developed by a Mr Perkins in the 1830s, on land between the Lower Road (now Essex Road) and Southgate Road on the eastern border of Islington. It was intended to draw business away from Smithfield, where livestock had been traded and slaughtered since the 12th century. The Smithfield traders successfully obstructed moves to close down their increasingly messy and hazardous business until an Act of Parliament in 1852.
Alas, by then, Mr Perkins’ market was failing – but a huge new livestock market then opened elsewhere in Islington near Caledonian Road. Look out for my next walk exploring the story of De Beauvoir Town.