Meet the big personalities behind London’s famous Columbia Road Flower Market

Thomas Triebel26 July 2017

Hear the story of one of the world’s most famous flower market from the traders themselves.

Columbia Road Flower Market has been existing for almost 150 years, and it’s been a go-to East End destination for flower lovers since the middle of the 20th century.

The Columbia Market was first established in 1869 as a food market. The interest for cut flowers and plants was introduced by French Protestant immigrants fleeing France from religious persecutions. Traders now sell flowers coming from all over the world.

"The business has been passed down through generations." (Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk)

It’s come a long way since the eighteen hundreds, but one thing has stayed consistent: its big characters with loud voices and personalities that you won’t find anywhere else, with some families having been on the market for over 100 years.

Dennis, flower seller, confirms: “All the guys that you see down here, my cousin’s here, my ex-wife’s over there, my nephew’s still up there… We’ve grown up together.”

Traders sell flowers coming from all over the world. (Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk)

The market opens every Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm. It isn’t an easy job: traders arrive at dawn to set up their stalls.

David explains: “We come here every Sunday morning very early. I get into work at 3 am, we load the lorry and we get here for about 4.”

Other than flowers and plants, the market is also composed of artisan coffee places, street food shops and craftsmen selling diverse handmade items from jewellery and vintage clothes to Buddhist artefacts and perfumed candles.

To learn more about the kind of flowers available on the market, visit Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk.

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