VISITOR INFORMATION
a brief history of Camden Market
Learn about how Camden Market came to be with our short history of the market.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Camden Market is one of London’s most popular weekend tourist attractions, offering fashion and crafts; a mix of people and foods from every corner of the world. The area has been made famous by films such as ‘Withnail & I’, pop icons ‘Madness’ & Oasis, and historic writers such as George Orwell, Mary Shelley and Charles Dickens.
The lock connected with the main trade routes and as a result saw a blossoming in warehouse and production lines whoose products were then fed up the river. This prosperity was short lived though as changes in transportation made shipping too expensive. Because of this the buildings and warehouses, which today take the shape of expensive apartments overlooking the canal, closed down and moved on. The area was then left to decay. It wasn’t until the 1970s that three men had an idea to transform the area around Camden Lock into an arts and crafts market.
They approached British Waterways and obtained the rights to lease from them some of the properties to realise this idea. As news of Camden travelled so to the market area became more popular and this saw the addition of further market stall areas. The Camden market of today has now less than 4 distinct markets and is complimented by shops with clothes and merchandising from around the world. Camden Market is a shoppers paradise!
MADNESS
You can’t talk about the history of Camden Town without mentioning one of the towns most famous groups, Madness. The groups first gig was in the Dublin Castle on Parkway, a venue still open and letting new artists perform live towards the tail end of the week.
Click here to view the Dublin Castle’s gig schedule.
WITHNAIL AND I
Telling the story of two out of work actors living in 1970s Camden Town the film has grown to acquire cult status over the years. The famous pub scene, which in fact was shot at a pub in Westbourne Green, and the subsequent meeting with “the embalmer” just two of many memorable scenes
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Camden Market – yeah, what’s going on
Ah, what’s going on…
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