Recently I took a short cut through Smithfield Market. The gates’ colour scheme reflect the Victorian’s invention of super bright colours, especially green and purple. The meat market has been here for over 800 years, and is currently under threat of closure. In the 18th and 19th century it was the site of an annual ‘wife sale‘. I was once told by a cheeky 21st century worker ‘That’s the only reason I got a job here’.