We get asked lots of questions- mostly starting, ’This is a bit of an unusual request…’.
When we got a call a few weeks ago, I was more intrigued by Bridget Virden’s naming of the object she needed repairing. Bridget runs lunchtime drop-in workshops in the market and had been asked to find a fixer.
She was referring to the four original costermongers stalls in Lower Marsh nearby that leaned languidly and somewhat forlornly on either side of the street market close to Waterloo station.
While I investigated what work we could manage within the tight budget and time frame, I noticed that the base of each barrow had an elaborate carving which read ‘J. Tappy- 22 Saville Place, Lambeth Walk’ and another address underneath ‘9 Newport Street, Lambeth Walk.’
A little digging unearthed this lovey blog about the carts: http://newcutmarket.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/joseph-tappy-and-market-carts.html
From a photo in the City of London collection, it seems Joe tappy had been a ‘Barrow Builder and Lender’ established in 1903. His workshop was in Lambeth walk nearby where he built for and lent out to local costermongers. The carts may be a hundred years old and for years I had done what Londoners do all the time – we walk by amazing time capsules and don’t even notice them.
Probably to its great surprise, one of Tappy’s carts became Art when it was procured by Michael Landy and shown at the Tate in 1991 (Costermonger’s Barrow ll). Another market stall bloomed for his show ‘Out of Order’ and the charming flower stall is now in the Zabludowitz Collection. Set apart from their familiar surroundings, these objects can be observed in a fresh light in the same way I came to see them when I became aware of their elegant structure and discovered their maker’s name.
The new frames were assembled and painted at The Goodlife Centre and the fearless Ruth Thomson and Fergus O’Connor braved the cold and rain to straighten and reframe three of the old barrows. We hope we have given them a new lease of life. Now they can be used again without threat of rain ruining the costermonger’s wares. It’s been a lovely experience to connect to Lower Marsh Market and meet Carole Powell, the manager and some of the community there who work hard to keep old traditions going and create new ways to keep the street alive. We can’t wait to see them painted and in use!
Thanks
We had a lovely time fixing up the Tappys in Granby Place with the following local organisations:
http://wearewaterloo.co.uk/market
