Lady Lane Market, the capital’s first women-only street market, launched on Friday 15 November 2019.
The market has been created to encourage more women from all backgrounds to trade within traditional street markets. The Council estimates that 90 per cent of market traders in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are male.
Lady Lane Market will be a dedicated space located on Wentworth Street, part of the historic Petticoat Lane Markets, to support emerging female entrepreneurs from the local area, particularly those who come from cultures that would prohibit them from working in predominantly male environments.
The market traders selected to take part are all independent women from the local area. They have been provided with a programme of digital and business training to support and grow their emerging enterprises.
Lady Lane Market will sell a wide range of homemade products including crafts, skincare products, jewellery and a range of gifts all made and curated by local women. Cash and cards will be accepted at all stalls and the market is committed to being as sustainable as possible.
Initially, the stalls will be open on Fridays between 10am and 3pm. You can follow Lady Lane Market on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and meet the traders on our website.
Thought to date back to the Tudor period, Petticoat Lane Markets are so-called because of the urban legend that “they would steal your petticoat at one end of the market and sell it back to you at the other”. Lady Lane Market is continuing the great heritage of textiles being sold at the markets, as well as introducing many other crafts.
The name Lady Lane Market was chosen to reflect the unique all-women group of traders and as a nod to the history of the wider Petticoat Lane Markets.
Funded by Tower Hamlets Council, the project is part of a wider regeneration programme for the various markets that make up the iconic Petticoat Lane site. Tower Hamlets Council and the City of London Corporation have worked in collaboration with traders, local businesses and with residents to bring forward a range of improvements.
Ann Sutcliffe, Corporate Director, Place Directorate, at London Borough of Tower Hamlets said: “Markets have played a crucial role at the heart of the East End for generations, but they have traditionally been male-dominated spaces. Lady Lane Market has been established to support this group of inspiring women who are determined to show why it should be an environment in which anyone can succeed.”
While the first cohort of women has already been selected, the programme is looking for future participants. It is open to women who live in Tower Hamlets or the City of London. Anyone interested in finding out more should email streetmarkets@towerhamlets.gov.uk
