Berwick Street has one of London’s oldest markets dating back a couple of centuries. In fact, it goes back all the way to 1778.
Being in the heart of Soho, the market has changed a lot over the years. Known in the past for being a traditional fruit and vegetable market, it is now known as a hotspot for lunch for the wide variety of street food sold.
Video footage taken from 1954 shows how the old market used to function with crowds of customers looking at all the products being sold. You can really take in so much from the video about how the market used to be bustling with trading.
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![Berwick Street Market in the 1950s](https://i2-prod..news/incoming/article28526229.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_GettyImages-84149354.jpg)
There are a few of the traditional fruit and vegetable vendors left in the market today but nothing of the large number you see in the video. You can also see jewelry and carpet sellers who also ply their trade in the market, with butchers and vegetable shops also on the sides.
In an instant, a man rolls through on his bicycle, the handlebars adorned with more onions than one could count. You can also have a quick look at some of the fruit and veg prices – a fraction of what they are now – and also get a great look at 50’s fashion from the customers. A tall image shows the large number of people in the street and also all the flags that were put up for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the year before.
You can see more from our collection of nostalgia videos here.