Columbia market 1872 Size:large A waiter carries a tankard

A waiter carries a tankard and bowl towards the gentlemen diners at their table

while the proprietress is washing up

During the late 18th and early 19th century

the West End and the City

the expanse of Hyde Park was especially popular for its walks and drives through wooded areas

Columbia market 1872 Size:large A waiter carries a tankardAn illustration of Columbia market from 'London: a Pilgrimage' by Blanchard Jerrold and Gustave Dor, 1872. Columbia Market in Bethnal Green was built by the philanthropist, Angela Burdett Coutts. Jerrold writes that it was intended to 'bring cheap and good food within the reach of those who could least afford to be cheated of a farthing's worth. And so in 1868, under liberal regulations unknown in the old markets, the spacious avenues of a fine