The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-20 00:00:00

LONDON,

BILLINGSGATE MA RK ET.
FROM A COLtItEr.P..ND6NT.)
When any great public buifiing, public market, or
public thoroughfare, ik,a, is to be razed to the foun-
dation for reconstruction, it is invariably the custom
that most of the material for the new building is
either already prepared, .or easily accessible, before
commencing to pull asunder the old structure. These
previous preparations are made with the view that no
time might be lost in the reconstruction of the build-
ing, that public business might not be hindered by
the necessity of transacting it in temporary places ; and
that that part of the town where the construction is
being renewed may not be allowed for years to look
like a wilderness of ruins with scaffoldings, &c.
Billingsgate, as a public market, it appears, must
be an exception to the general rule. It is just now
about three years and nine months since the demo-
lition of old Billingsgate market and the recon-
struction of the new one on its site commenced;
and at the present day, on viewing the market from
Lower Thames-street, it may yet be seen that a great
deal of work has to be performed before its final com-
pletion.
It becomes rather an awkward affair at times to
lay aside an old machine, and wait until the materials
for the re-construction of a new one are manufac-
tured. An Irishman, who depended pretty much
upon the ready use of a good musket, seems to have
been aware of that fact. When Pat wanted his
musket renewed, he went to a gunsmith and said, in
accents as broad as his countrymen are famed for—
" Arrab, my honey, this musket of mine requires a
new stock, a new lock, and a new barrel ; but I must
have them almost immediately." The gunsmith
having plenty of the material on hand already manu-
factured, of course was very soon able to supply
Paddy with an entire new musket. There was a
Scotchman, too, who could not get on without a
sharp-edged instrument; he went to a cutler and said,
"Please, sir, this knife of mine requires a new handle
and a fresh blade; but as I can't well do without a
knife I will just keep this one by me until you have
completed one exactly similar to it, or you may im-
prove upon it if you can." Billingsgate-market may
be assimilated to an old boot, that had been given to
a cobbler with directions to put on it a new top, new
front, new heel, and new sole; but the artist has not
yet been enabled to finish more than the top, heel,
and sole—the front building next to Thames-street
has yet to be erected.
The reasons for the market not being in a more
forward state after such a lapse of time, it is difficult
to conjecture; but there are other public grievences
and eyesores in and about the market that ought to be
exposed.
That part of the building facing the river has been
finished now upwards of nine months, but the rudely
constructed, unsightly gangway at the middle of the
quay is still there, thus preventing the vessels from
being properly berthed and arranged along the quay,
and thereby prevent confusion.
The old grievance that the oyster smacks lay in one
tier alongside of each other, stretching right out into
the middle of the river, obstructing a passage for
barges, &c., is this day as prominent as it was three
years ago.
Another grievance that should be exposed is the
unwarrantable filthy state the market has been kept
in of late. The reason assigned for this neglect is
stated to be the 16-horse power engine, situate below
in the shellfish-market, is not yet in fair working
order. When it is so it will heave up a stream of
water through the fountain that will fill the large
basin which stands in the middle of the market in
about ten minutes, besides driving a large fanner
which is to ventilate the shellfish-market. The ex-
pense of keeping up this engine it is supposed will be
about 1,0001. per annum. As regards the reason as-
signed about the engine not yet being in working
order, it is correct enough, it having been inquired
into ; but that is no sufficient reason why the market
is allowed to remain unscrubbed and unwashed for
several days together during summer weather; water
might be carried from the river in buckets, if no other
method is conveniently at hand.
Another eyesore that seems to puzzle a good many
visitors to Billingsgate is the row of houses that stand
betwixt Darkhouse-lane and the market, and which
it was supposed would be pulled down, and thus leave
an open space for carts and waggons to stand, and
prevent the overcrowding of Thames-street. It
would seem that instead of those houses coming
down, they are making erections and building about
them, which has all the appearance of an intention
that those houses are to remain as they are for a
number of years at least. After all the expense that
will have been incurred in reconstructing Billings-
gate-market, unless the whole of those houses which
stand betwixt Darkhouse-lane and it are swept away,
and an open space left for carts, waggons, &c., the
market itself will be but a very poor looking affair to
the eye, nor will the inhabitants along Lower
Thames-street be relieved in the smallest degree
from their present grievance, an overcrowded state of
the street in the morning and great confusion.