Hillyfield Primary Academy

It has been a pleasure to get students from Hillyfield Academy involved in Proud Places' Columbia Market gates project this Christmas term. Proud Places is a programme that develops the confidence and curiosity of young people and inspires them with a sense of community pride. Our projects focus on local sites undergoing restoration – in this case, the Columbia Market gates – the only surviving fragment of a huge Victorian Market complex.
 
The original Columbia Market was as big as a cathedral and as grand. It was built in grand Gothic style by England's wealthiest woman, Angela Burdett-Coutts. A school assembly gave students the opportunity to explore the chief mystery of the original Columbia market: Why did such a beautiful market close only 20 years after it opened?
 
Although the market was a generous gift to the people of the east end, the market traders of the east end were more used to street trading, the new market’s rules were too strict (no Sunday trading), there was too much competition from the more established markets nearby and it had poor rail connections. The buildings were pulled down in 1958. But! The original market is not entirely gone.
 
One fragment of this history survived. The wrought iron gates that fronted Columbia Market rusted and lost their iconic lanterns but they stayed standing.  To protect this vulnerable piece of the East End's history, the Heritage of London Trust fully restored these gates this autumn.
 
Year 4 were inspired by this restoration. A wire-working workshop allowed everyone to get stuck into their role as blacksmiths. From flowers to curlicues to lattices, together Year 4 restored the lost ironwork from old Columbia Market, just as the blacksmiths on site were restoring the parts that survived.
 
We were so pleased to have Hillyfield students join us to celebrate the launch of these restored gates. The blacksmiths were also very pleased to meet their little counterparts! After the ribbon was cut, students were encouraged to explore the site where the market once was and to remember the Victorian East End it was built for.
 
We are always delighted at Proud Places to offer schools memorable historic and creative workshops.