![]() The base is rusticated and is supported by "swooping buttresses" on each side. It has five storeys and is constructed of Portland stone. The tower stands 46m high, designed to act as a focal point for drovers entering London. ![]() The tower now offers public access and guided tours. In 2016, Islington Council began a restoration project at a cost of just under £2M which saw the reopening on the clock tower in 2019. In the late 20th century, the tower suffered considerably from vandalism. The market buildings were then mostly demolished, council housing, principally the Market Estate, was built over much of the site, and the remainder converted to a municipal park. The sale of livestock at the site ended in the 1930s, and of meat in the 1960s. The rectangular site radiated out from the central clock tower and comprised livestock pens that could accommodate 12,700 cattle, sheep and pigs, slaughterhouses, sales arenas, offices, banks, a telegraph office and two hostels and five pubs for the rest and recreation of the drovers who brought the animals into London, and for the market workers. The market complex was designed by the Corporation of London's Surveyor, James Bunstone Bunning, and was opened by Prince Albert on 15 June 1855. By the mid- Victorian era, the development of London had made the transportation of livestock into the centre of the city problematic and in 1852 the Smithfield Market Removal Act was passed, allowing for the construction of a new Metropolitan Cattle Market on the site of a demolished mansion, Copenhagen House, in Islington, to the north of the city. The market at Smithfield in the City of London has been in operation for over 800 years. It is a Grade II* listed building, the railings and pubs having separate Grade II listings. After suffering neglect and vandalism in the late 20th century, the clock tower was restored between 20 and is now open to the public. The clock tower, two stretches of railings and three of the four pubs are all that now remain. The cattle market was closed in the 1930s, and the meat market in the 1960s, with much of the site being redeveloped for council housing. The market consisted of the central clock tower, enclosures for animals, slaughterhouses, sales arenas, administrative offices and four public houses, one standing at each corner of the complex. ![]() The complex was designed by the Corporation's Surveyor, James Bunstone Bunning, and was laid out on a site of 30 acres (0.12 km 2) that originally formed the estate of a mansion, Copenhagen House. The Caledonian Park Clock Tower, Islington, London, is the major remaining element of the Metropolitan Cattle Market, opened in 1855 by the City of London Corporation as a replacement for the market at Smithfield. Location of Caledonian Park Clock Tower in London Borough of Islington ![]()
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