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As London’s oldest market prepares to move out of the City, Photographer Orlando Gili has been down at Smithfield, documenting the last generation of butchers to work at this ancient site

Greg Lawrence Junior and Greg Lawrence Junior Junior, Owners of G Lawrence Wholesale Meat

‘I arrived at Smithfield Market in the dead of night. The last pubs had long closed and it was a few hours before tube station shutters were wrenched open.

Walking towards the market, you are met by a wave of sound, beeps and wheels dragged over tarmac, bearing the weighty chunks of meat wrapped in plastic. Emitting at a different frequency is a grumble from a line of white lorries and vans, punctuated by shouts and low pitched chatter. Smithfield is very much alive and in full operational order at this time. Within minutes of arriving, I was dressed in white overalls and deep inside the bowels of the market, photographing blood splattered butchers and dodging lines or dead animals hanging from hooks.

Experiencing the night market was a bit like uncovering a secret parallel world that operates in the shadows while the rest of London sleeps. There is a sense of excitement and unpredictably, forklifts whizz past men in long jackets hunched over neatly-stacked boxes, punching numbers into calculators and fielding phone calls. Inside the tall Victorian halls, behind large glass windows, carcasses are hacked into pieces at literally breakneck speed. It is very much a physical and analogue space, with a friendly masculine atmosphere. There is clearly a strong sense of camaraderie and familial spirit, and many of the businesses are family run.

I returned on early mornings in winter to develop a portrait series that celebrates the people behind the market. Night workers provide an under-appreciated role in modern cities. They risk significant risk to their health to meet the demands of the 24/7 modern city. According to a long-term US study, night shift work increases the risk of death by 11%.

The historic market will soon relocate to a £1 billion high-tech behemoth in Dagenham. The closure of Smithfield as a market ends over 800 years of trading meat in Central London, part of a wider trend to sanitise inner cities, with less palatable aspects of urban life kept out of sight.’

Orlando Gili

Mark, Chicken Salesman

Horatio, Driver

Harry, Shopman

Ian, Chicken Salesman

Greg, Beef salesman and Sean, Cashier

Jonny, Butcher

Elijah, Salesman

Tony, Retired Boxer, Trader and Restaurant Distributor

Roger, Fork Lift Operator

Dave, Salesman

‘Pig Ear Tony’, Pig Meat Salesman

Charlie, Salesman

Aaron, Butcher, Marcus, Salesman and Mark, Shopman

Luca, Production

Adam, Butcher

Kye, Unloader

Pav, Butcher

Russel, Butcher

James, Sales Manager

Grant, Butcher

Photographs copyright © Orlando Gili

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