Covent Garden Market, Covered market in Westminster, London, United Kingdom
Covent Garden Market is a marketplace in Westminster, London, built around a large covered hall from the 19th century surrounded by smaller pavilions that house shops, stalls, and cafes. St Paul's Church closes off the western side of the central piazza, while the northern Apple Market is dedicated to crafts and antiques.
The site started as a convent garden and became a trading place in the mid-1600s, with temporary stalls selling fruit and vegetables. In the 19th century, permanent halls were built, turning it into London's main wholesale market for flowers, fruit, and vegetables until the 1970s.
The name comes from a convent garden that once supplied vegetables and herbs for a monastery kitchen. Street performers and musicians gather most days on the cobbled piazza in front of St Paul's Church, drawing crowds of onlookers.
The market sits steps from Covent Garden Underground station, which is visible as soon as you exit. Coming in the morning gives you room to move around the stalls and the piazza before foot traffic builds up through the day.
In 1662 Samuel Pepys watched a puppet show by the Italian Pietro Gimonde, known as Signor Bologna, on the market piazza; the performance is linked to the later Punch and Judy tradition. The market's cast-iron and glass roof dates from 1872, and the flower market building of 1860 now houses the London Transport Museum.
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