Draft:Tooting Market

• Comment: This would benefit from a total re-write in a dry neutral tone. Theroadislong (talk) 11:29, 22 October 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Noting that the source material is now licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 & GFDL. Tenshi! (Talk page) 19:43, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

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Tooting Market in 2022

Tooting Market, which sits at number 21–23 on the High Street in the borough of Tooting in South London, is one of London's oldest indoor markets, having existed since the early 20th century. It is home to a variety of traders, including multicultural food vendors, retail shops, tailors and fabric sellers, and hair and beauty salons.

Blue plaques hang above the High Street and Totterdown Street entrances to the Market, which were unveiled at a ceremony on Sunday 2 October 2022. These two community-funded plaques recognise the contribution of people from all over the world who have come to Tooting borough and feature the words of Edward Mears, the winner of a local schools' competition. The inscription captures the multiculturalism of the borough.: "Incredible. Invincible. A community of all, for all. We are Tooting."

Many migrants have traded at Tooting Market since it's inception and it is also where some British high-street names began their businesses. Tooting Market in its current incarnation was founded in 1930, as per the inscription carved into the red and white entrance fronting the High Street. The British Newspaper Archive (BNA) contains reports from local newspapers of the opening in October of that year. Advertised in the Streatham News on 24th October 1930. a half page spread announced the "NEW TOOTING MARKET" with "Bargains for All, trams and buses passing the door" and Tooting Broadway Underground close by.   

The Market however has a history that predates 1930, to an earlier site in the Mitcham Road, Tooting.

Tooting & Tooting Market 1916–1930

Tooting borough in the early twentieth century had extended at a notable rate. This was largely due to the construction of the Totterdown Fields Estate, with over 1,200 homes built between 1901 and 1911, and the arrival of a tramline from Central London.

Many families had moved out of the East End of London when slum clearance began and sought a better way of life in the suburbs. The daily needs of the inhabitants were met by a rapidly developing shopping district, with markets in Tooting before 1930. Tooting Market and Blunt's Market, both in Mitcham Road, and the parade of shops at Amen Corner known as Furzedown Market, all started trading in the early 1900s. There was also a market at Tooting Junction dating from the late 1920s.

Leisure pursuits were fulfilled by Tooting Library in Mitcham Road (1902 with an upper floor added in 1908), the Lido at Tooting Bec (1906), and the creation of picture houses from as early as 1909, culminating in the construction of the Granada Cinema in Mitcham Road in 1931, now Grade 1 listed and a Bingo Hall. The Wesleyan Methodist Central Hall was built in November 1910 as a venue for concerts, talks and films and had a capacity to seat 1,800 people and a further 800 people in the basement's lower hall.

A decade later the extension of the London Underground to Tooting Broadway, completed in 1926, also proved a benefit for the area. In his book Days that are Gone, published in 1947, AJ Hurley wrote, "Immediately as the news spread that the Tube was coming to Balham and Tooting property at once began to increase in value, and enterprising businesses quickly bought up available sites for future development. Many of the smaller shop holders sold out at a good profit and, especially in the vicinity of Tooting Broadway and Mitcham Road, the seal of prosperity was set on the trading enterprise."

The covered Tooting Market

Planning for a covered marketplace originates from 1916, as recorded in a planning application dated 21 January 1916 to the architects' department of the London County Council (LCC) on behalf of a Mr S Frost, requesting a plan to erect a building at 19 Mitcham Road for trading purposes. By 14th July 1916 Tooting Market had been built, with the Streatham News reporting that "the newly constructed Tooting Market is now completed." During a court case in 1929 a magistrate enquired why East End street traders came to Tooting to ply their wares, in this case silk stockings. A police constable explained the appeal of the district: Tooting was thickly populated and a good marketplace.

On Christmas Eve 1929 the stallholders of Tooting Market were served with notice to quit after 14 years of trading, operative on 19th January 1930 as the site had been bought by Messrs Woolworth's Ltd. who intended to build a large store at Tooting. However the local M.P. Sir Alfred Butt intervened and by 10 January it was reported that the stallholders' notice had been extended."

Fire of 1930

On 30 January 1930 Tooting market was engulfed by fire – an incident without fatalities. It was reported that the stallholders suffered significant losses , with some having failed to renew their insurance policies due to the expected closure of the market.

The new Tooting Market 1930–1950 (today's site)

James Evans Powell bought the site on which Tooting Market now stands. The 1921 Census records him as a manufacturing chemist in Croydon, an employer at 3-5 Frith Road, aged 41 and unmarried Land Registry records on Find My Past record that in July 1925 James Evans Powell became the freehold proprietor of 23 High Street, Tooting, and the adjacent six cottages in Angel Court. Shortly afterwards on 11th February 1930 an application was made to the London County Council (LCC) by architect John James Joass for "the covering over of Angel Court next High Street.' An entry in a 1930 Rate Book shows that the buildings at 21/ 23 High Street and Angel Court were demolished, creating the entrance to Tooting Market. These were subsequently developed by architects Messrs Belcher and Joass of Saint James's Place, and builders Messrs White and Johnson of College Place, Chelsea.

The new Tooting Market opened on Thursday 23rd October 1930, with the event comprehensively reported in the local newspapers' By January 1931 local news deemed the market to be an asset to Tooting and a 'boon to the housewife'."

Second Fire July 1933

Tooting Market was struck by another fire in July 1933, a significant blaze with damage estimated at £20,000 However despite the scale of the fire it reopened a few months later in October 1933.

In 1934 there were 31 stalls in the market, almost half of which were run by traders from the old market in Mitcham Road. A number of these were from Jewish families which reflected what was happening in British high streets in the first half of the 20th Century, as Jewish families moved out of central London and set up businesses in the suburbs. Many of them were bespoke tailors such as the Cedar, Shavick and Krett families. The Emanuels were an old established Jewish family of fruiterers and greengrocers who feature throughout much of the market's history. They ran a stall at the High Street entrance for over 50 years. 

Notable traders

Records from the early 1930s show new names such as grocers Cohen and Freeman trading as Bargain Centres (London) Ltd.  Jack Cohen went on to establish the supermarket chain Tesco's. In the book Nothing like a Dame (2007), Dame Shirley Porter says that her birth in November 1930 coincided with her father Jack's preparations for his Bargain Centre stall in Tooting Market.  

Retailers during the 1940s

In the 1940 Post Office Directory for Tooting Market there remained stallholders from 1934: the Emanuels, Jack Cohen (Bargain Centres), James Powell (two stalls), Eggee Ltd and Fred Romaine the fishmonger.

Fred Romaine fishmonger at his stall in Tooting Market during the 1950s. Photo courtesy of Pamela Goodyer.

The 1940s would have been a challenging time for the Tooting Market stallholders, in a period of rationing and queues during the Second World War. The scheme for food rationing introduced by the British government in 1940 was designed to ensure fair shares for all at a time of national shortage. Everyone was given a ration book with coupons and these were required before rationed goods such as sugar, meat, fat, bacon, cheese and eggs could be purchased. Housewives had to register with particular retailers, so many in Tooting would have turned to their regular stallholders in the market.

Post Second World War

As female fashion developed after the war, the trend for affordable ready-to-wear clothes was reflected in the High Street shops, and in Tooting Market where Jack(ie) Brafman, the self-styled Yiddisher Dior traded as a ladies' outfitters, having taken over the business from his parents Morris and Bella Brafman. Jack was to become a notable trader in Petticoat Lane Market. On the 1939 Register he is shown as an "auctioneer" – an alternate term for a market trader delivering his sales pitch.

Another notable trader was Charlie Watkins. In 1949 in Tooting Market Charlie Watkins and his brother opened a record stall and started a mail order service for sheet music named Melody Corner. Recognising the need for superior sound amplification Charlie Watkins would go on to found WEM (Watkins Electric Music) renowned for manufacturing PA systems and loudspeaker stacks. His equipment would provide a key element in the 1960s music scene and significantly change the music festival scene.

Tooting Market 1950s onwards

Life was difficult for many post-war, but it did gradually improve during the 1950s - with the end of rationing in 1954 giving way to wider choice and availability for consumers. This led to developments as retailers competed for the housewife's custom, particularly with the advent of self-service cut-price grocers such as Anthony Jackson, whose Food Fare stall opened in Tooting Market in 1956. He would have sold all the key convenience food staples popular at the time such as spam fritters, salmon paste, and tinned fruit with evaporated milk

Change of ownership 1957

On 15 July 1957 Tooting Market owner James Evans Powell died at his farm in Bletchingley aged 77. As per the terms of his will Tooting Market was left to his housekeeper, Mrs Daisy Lilian Boddington. News of the James Powell's £80,000 bequest to his housekeeper was reported in the newspapers.

George Walter Frederick Boddington, born 1927, was the younger of Daisy's two sons and would take on the management of the Market. George and his wife Eileen had moved into 35 Montana Road in Tooting by 1948 so were local to the borough.

Market to cater for late night shoppers

In 1960 the market's opening hours were extended to cater for late-night shoppers, with the shops to remain open until 7.30pm on Fridays as from 3 June 1960. The extended hours would have given housewives, especially those who went out to work, more free time at the weekend to shop. The scheme was welcomed by stallholders who promoted special offers as an incentive to their customers, as contained in the 27th May 1960 issue of the Streatham News.

Tooting Market 1960s

In 1960 George Boddington made a detailed planning application for a new stall within the market called Beauty Box, likely tapping into the blossoming cosmetics market which accompanied the London fashion scene of the 'Swinging Sixties'. In the 1960 Post Office Directory there are still some long-standing names in the market such as Emanuel, Pater, Romaine and Brafman. The range of goods on sale had not changed a great deal over the previous two decades, with traders still catering for the shoppers' everyday needs. But there were newcomers such as Express Key Cutting who offered a 'while you wait service'.

Max Fox in his tailor's shop at Tooting Market during the 1960s. Photo courtesy of Andrew Fox.

Another new trader to the Market was Max Fox, a tailor by trade, who appears in the 1960 trade directory as a dyer and cleaner. Along with his wife Fay he also repaired and pressed clothes. There are also local reports from that time of the "Eel Lady" – Doris Edith Harrington, née Adams – who sold eels in Tooting Market next to the dog food stall. She was a member of the Harrington family whose Eel and Pie House at 3 Selkirk Road, Tooting is still in existence today, having first opened its doors in 1908.

Self-service and convenience offerings were becoming more popular in the 1960s. By 1960 Anthony Jackson's Food Fare had a competitor with the arrival of Victor Value, a rapidly expanding self-service supermarket chain also offering discounted prices. Jackson's responded to the challenge with half page advertisements claiming to be "the name that made supermarkets famous".

Change of Ownership 1978

Daisy Boddington died on 7th September 1977 aged 86. Like her benefactor she is buried in St Mary's Church, Bletchingley. According to the terms of her will, Daisy bequeathed her personal possessions to her daughter-in-law Eileen, but instructed that her personal estate should pass to her grandson, Peter Boddington, once he attained the age of 25.

Peter Boddington became the owner of Tooting Market in August 1978.

Tooting Market 1980s onwards

Entries in the 1980 Post Office Directory indicate that consumer tastes were starting to change, with the appearance of stalls selling jewellery, gifts, greeting cards and a sandwich-grill bar, however largely Tooting Market still featured long-standing traders: Emanuel G Ltd. Greengrocers, Pater Textiles Ltd., Brafman Jack Ltd. ladies outfitters, Eggee Ltd and Express Key Cutting were still trading, as were O'Grady's Pet Stores and Garfield's Shoes. Stannards is also listed, having taken over the butcher's stall at number 25 in the late 1960s (Stannard's still exists as the longest-serving trader in Tooting Market today).

Another notable trader at the Market by this time was Gloria Reid. In the late 1990s, Gloria Reid opened a stall in Tooting Market selling Caribbean food. Born in Jamaica in 1943, she came to England at the age of 15, working firstly as a hairdresser then using her sewing skills at a coat factory in Liverpool Street. For a time she was a model and featured on a number of album covers for Reggae music.  Over the years she featured in articles written about the market as well as being a favourite subject for photographers – her portrait by local photographer Alex Lambert was shortlisted for the 2020 Portrait of Britain award. Gloria died in 2022, having run her stall for over 25 years – her shop sign "Gloria's" hangs above the Totterdown Street entrance to Tooting Market in tribute.

In 1980 the Boddington's had a tobacconist's stall at number 1 Tooting Market, run by Peter Boddington. It had a prominent position on the corner of the High Street entrance, opposite Emanuel's Greengrocer's. Peter was known to be a chain smoker and in 1997 he featured in the headlines due to his protracted two-year legal battle with a railway operator which had imposed a cigarette ban on its trains. BBC News reported on the long-running case after the Lords dismissed his appeal. Peter Boddington's legal battle was reported to have cost him tens of thousands of pounds. Reporting on the outcome BBC News stated that Mr Boddington "now travels home on trains operated by Virgin where he is allowed to puff away".

Change of Ownership 2010

Records show Peter Boddington as a director and his mother Eileen as a secretary of The Tooting Development Company, operating from Stall 1 of Tooting Market from 1995. Eileen Boddington died in 2002, and son Peter in 2004 at the age of 50. He was outlived by his father George who died in 2009 aged 82. The market then passed to Patricia Boddington, George's second wife. In 2010 Tooting Market was sold to its current owners. This marked the end of a continuity of ownership that had lasted for 80 years, featuring just two names – Powell and Boddington.

Tooting Market today

Tooting Market today continues to be a key part of the borough's life and commerce. The Market today is home to a wide range of traders including retail shops, hair salons and food and drink vendors that reflect the multiculturalism of the borough – offering cuisines including Mauritian, Guyanese, Japanese, Jamaican, Italian, Lebanese and Portuguese. It has played host to variety of music, cultural and community events and has now extended beyond the indoor market to include a street market in summer.

External links

• Official website