17 December 2008
Smithfield Market's Great Annual Turkey Auction
Bargain hunters who have forgotten to buy a turkey or have left
it until the eleventh hour will have a last chance on Christmas Eve
at the annual turkey auction being held at Smithfield market at
10.30am.
Date: Wednesday 24 December 2007
Time: 10.30am sharp (the auction typically lasts
around 1.5 hours)
Venue: Smithfield Market. In "Harts" the Old
General Market building (bottom end of Charterhouse Street/
Farringdon Road).
Ends
For further information about the auction, contact Greg Lawrence
at Smithfield Market 020 7236 0460 / 020 7248 4488. For further
information about Smithfield market, contact Fiona Milligan, City
of London Corporation 020 7332 3451
Notes to Editors:
Meat has been bought and sold at Smithfield for over 800 years,
making it one of the oldest markets in London. A livestock market
occupied the site as early as the 10th century.
Approximately 120,000 tons of produce pass through the market
each year. As well as meat and poultry, products such as cheese,
pies, and other delicatessen goods are available. Buyers, including
butchers, restaurateurs and caterers, are able see the goods for
themselves and drive away with what they have bought.
The market had a £70 million refurbishment in the 1990s to equip
it for the future and enable it to comply with modern hygiene
standards.
The result has been the creation of a thoroughly modern
temperature controlled environment inside a magnificent Grade II
listed Victorian building.