Old Spitalfields Market guide: which day to go for what

Old Spitalfields Market is at 16 Horner Square, E1, five minutes' walk from Liverpool Street, and it is open seven days a week. The stalls run 10am to 6pm on most weekdays, from 8am on Thursdays, 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 5pm on Sundays. Shops and restaurants under the roof keep their own hours. The question is not whether it is open but which day suits what you are after, because the stalls change through the week.

Four centuries of trading

There has been a market here since 1638, when Charles I licensed the sale of flesh, fowl and roots on what were then fields on the edge of London. The buildings you walk through now were put up between 1885 and 1893 for Robert Horner, the last private owner, which is why they are still called the Horner Buildings. The City of London Corporation bought the market in 1920 and ran it as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market until 1991, when that trade moved out to Leyton. A regeneration in 2005 created Bishops Square and Crispin Place on the western side. Across Commercial Street is Hawksmoor's Christ Church.

The week at a glance

• Every day: the daily market of stalls and independent shops, plus street food at The Kitchens in the middle of the floor (11am to 6pm, 5pm on Sundays).
• Wednesday: Urban Makers, a makers' market, 10am to 5pm.
• Thursday: the antiques market, 8am to 5pm, with more than 80 stalls.
• First and third Friday: the vinyl market, 10am to 5pm.
• Weekends: the daily market at its fullest, with the crowds to match.

Thursday: the antiques market

If you go once, go on a Thursday. The antiques market has been running for more than 15 years, curated by Sherman & Waterman, and draws dealers from around the country and Europe. Expect vintage ceramics, furniture, art, maps, postcards and ephemera, cameras, militaria and jewellery, from bargain costume pieces upward. The clothing rails lean to American workwear, utility, Victoriana and the 1950s to the 1970s. The market itself says you will be competing with interior designers, fashion buyers and film studios, which is the honest reason to arrive at 8am rather than 11am.

Fridays: records

On the first and third Friday of each month the vinyl market takes over, with dealers selling rare and collectable records alongside some new pressings, across everything from 1960s psychedelia to 1990s New York hip hop. The next dates are Friday 6 November and Friday 20 November. It runs 10am to 5pm, so a long lunch from a City desk will cover it.

Weekends

Saturday and Sunday are when the market is busiest and the full run of stalls is out. It is also when the area's other markets are trading, which makes Spitalfields a natural first or last stop on a Sunday that takes in Brick Lane. Note the earlier Sunday close at 5pm.

The shops under the roof

Around the stalls, the market mixes small producers and local makers with independent retailers and a few well-known brands. Among the current shops and stalls are Bookfeast, selling print titles old and new; Udom Alpaca for alpaca knitwear; Mi Cielo London, with jewellery made in London; Ludo Pals, a menswear brand making in England; and Tiliri, a bakery trading in the market at weekends. The line-up changes, so treat the list as a sample rather than a promise.

Where to eat

The Kitchens, in the centre of the market floor, is the market's own street food hall, open from 11am. For a proper meal, St John Bread and Wine is a short walk away at 94-96 Commercial Street, serving lunch every day from 12pm to a 3pm last seating and a bar menu from 3pm to 5pm, which is useful for a late market lunch. The menu changes daily.

Nearby: Folgate Street

Close by, Dennis Severs' House at 18 Folgate Street is a Georgian house arranged as if its 18th-century residents have just left the room. Day visits cost £16 plus a £1.50 booking fee, silent night visits £25, and the Christmas programme runs from 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027. Book ahead.

Coming up

The market's Christmas light switch-on is on Wednesday 11 November, 4pm to 7.30pm, with music from 4pm, a gospel choir from 5.30pm and the lights going on at 6pm. The Christmas market and shops are open throughout.