Watercolour and acrylic ink painting of Leadenhall Market by Cathy Read.

Leadenhall Market Meditation

Leadenhall Market has been on this site since the 1400s. Cities like London have numerous markets, often specialising in one type of product: fish, corn, meat. Those original traders would never recognize today’s market, but they surely would be familiar with crowds and busy trading.

This view looks right into the Leadenhall Market to the streets beyond. The golden roof arrests your attention, giving this everyday scene a regal and sunny light. The building is far from ordinary; ornately decorated with flowers and creatures of all kinds!

Lively Leadenhall Market

At ground level, there are a few hints at the decoration, but most is lost amongst the shop fronts vying for attention and enticing you in to purchase their wares. Only when looking up do you see the magnificent arched atrium roof, shedding light on everything below. At once functional and ornamental. The detail simply overwhelms the eyes.

A group of people ambles towards us appearing to be together, but soon after they separate out into distinct smaller groups passing each other or stopping to take in their surroundings.

The quaint cobbled street stands as a relic of the past. It is hard to imagine that cobbles were once state of the art, as were car gaslights – the latter being the reason cobbles were phased out. Cobblestones were perfect for allowing horses more grip on the roads. Hooves need traction, wheels roll.

The ironwork above the shop on the near right is another historical relic. Are they part of an awning removed when the atrium roof was installed? Or possibly an apparatus section used for displaying goods for sale?

It is an ancient scene, but one that hints at modernity. The ‘No Entry’ sign. A black minibus behind a white van dated very much 21st Century. Even without the signature, you can tell this is not a scene of days of yore.

Watercolour and acrylic ink painting of Leadenhall Market by Cathy Read.

Some paintings, like Leadenhall Market, don’t stick around for long. It now has a home in Sussex.

If you’d like to see future paintings, before they leave the studio permanently, then I’d be delighted to keep you updated with my new creations

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